Polybius (crater) explained
Polybius is a lunar impact crater in the southeast part of the Moon, and is named after ancient Greek historian Polybius.[1] It is located to the south-southeast of the larger crater Catharina, in the area framed by the Rupes Altai scarp. Some distance to the northeast is the Mare Nectaris, with the flooded craters Beaumont and Fracastorius.
The crater rim of Polybius appears slightly distended in the northeast, and has a cut through the northern wall. But the wall is otherwise moderately intact with only minor erosion. The interior floor is flat and almost featureless, with no central rise. To the south and east, a ray from Tycho cuts across the bowl-shaped Polybius A and Polybius B craterlets.
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 Polybius.
| Polybius | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|
| A | 23.0° S | 28.0° E | 17 km |
| B | 25.5° S | 25.5° E | 12 km |
| C | 22.0° S | 23.6° E | 29 km |
| D | 26.9° S | 27.9° E | 9 km |
| E | 24.4° S | 26.2° E | 9 km |
| F | 22.2° S | 23.0° E | 21 km |
| G | 22.5° S | 22.7° E | 5 km |
| H | 21.1° S | 22.7° E | 8 km |
| J | 22.7° S | 23.5° E | 9 km |
| K | 24.3° S | 25.3° E | 14 km |
| L | 22.0° S | 28.2° E | 7 km |
| M | 21.3° S | 22.1° E | 6 km |
| N | 23.4° S | 26.8° E | 13 km |
| P | 21.5° S | 22.9° E | 17 km |
| Q | 25.1° S | 27.5° E | 6 km |
| R | 25.6° S | 27.3° E | 7 km |
| T | 26.1° S | 25.5° E | 12 km |
| V | 25.2° S | 29.1° E | 6 km | |
Polybius K is sometimes referred to as "Larrieu’s Dam" because the unusually straight northwest rim of the crater creates the appearance of a dam under certain lighting conditions.[2]
References
- Book: Andersson . L. E. . Whitaker . E. A. . Ewen Whitaker . 1982 . NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature . NASA RP-1097 .
- 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 .
Notes and References
- Web site: Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature Polybius. usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union. August 24, 2017.
- ‘Larrieu’s Dam’; the ‘rediscovery’ of a seldom explored topographical lunar feature in the foothills of the Rupes Altai. Nigel Longshaw. J. Br. Astron. Assoc. 118, 2, 2008.
