Daedalus (crater) explained
Daedalus is a prominent crater located near the center of the far side of the Moon. The inner wall is terraced, and there is a cluster of central peaks on the relatively flat floor. Because of its location (shielded from radio emissions from the Earth), it has been proposed as the site of a future giant radio telescope, which would be scooped out of the crater itself, much like the Arecibo radio telescope, but on a vastly larger scale.
The crater is named after Daedalus of Greek myth. It is pictured in famous photographs taken by the Apollo 11 astronauts. In contemporary sources it was called Crater 308 (this was a temporary IAU designation that preceded the establishment of far-side lunar nomenclature).[1]
Nearby craters of note include Icarus to the east and Racah to the south. Less than a crater diameter to the north-northeast is Lipskiy.
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Daedalus.
| Daedalus | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|
| B | 4.1° S | 179.8° W | 23 km |
| C | 4.1° S | 178.9° W | 68 km |
| G | 6.6° S | 177.4° W | 33 km |
| K | 8.3° S | 178.5° W | 24 km |
| M | 8.1° S | 179.5° E | 13 km |
| R | 7.7° S | 175.2° E | 41 km |
| S | 6.8° S | 172.9° E | 20 km |
| U | 4.2° S | 174.9° E | 30 km |
| W | 3.5° S | 177.5° E | 70 km | |
See also
References
- Book: Andersson . L. E. . Whitaker . E. A. . Ewen Whitaker . 1982 . NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature . NASA RP-1097 .
- Web site: Blue . Jennifer . July 25, 2007 . Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature . . 2007-08-05 .
- Book: Bussey . B. . Ben Bussey . Spudis . P. . Paul Spudis . 2004 . The Clementine Atlas of the Moon . . New York . 978-0-521-81528-4 .
- Book: Cocks . Elijah E. . Cocks . Josiah C. . 1995 . Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature . Tudor Publishers . 978-0-936389-27-1 .
- Web site: McDowell . Jonathan . July 15, 2007 . Lunar Nomenclature . . 2007-10-24 .
- Menzel. D. H.. Minnaert. M.. Levin. B.. Dollfus. A.. Bell. B.. Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU. 10.1007/BF00171763. Space Science Reviews. 12. 2. 136–186. 1971. 1971SSRv...12..136M. 122125855.
- Book: Moore
, Patrick
. Patrick Moore . 2001 . On the Moon . . 978-0-304-35469-6 .
- Book: Price
, Fred W.
. 1988 . The Moon Observer's Handbook . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-33500-3 .
- Book: Rükl
, Antonín
. Antonín Rükl . 1990 . Atlas of the Moon . . 978-0-913135-17-4 .
- Book: Webb
, Rev. T. W.
. Thomas William Webb . 1962 . Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes . 6th revised . Dover . 978-0-486-20917-3 .
- Book: Whitaker
, Ewen A.
. Ewen Whitaker . 1999 . Mapping and Naming the Moon . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-62248-6 .
- Book: Wlasuk
, Peter T.
. 2000 . Observing the Moon . Springer . 978-1-85233-193-1 .
External links
Notes and References
- http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/LunarFarsideCharts/LFC-1%201stEd/LFC-1%202ndEd/LFC-1A/ Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A)
