Anaxagoras (crater)

Anaxagoras
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates73°29′N 10°10′W / 73.48°N 10.17°W / 73.48; -10.17
Diameter51.90[1] km
Depth3.0 km
Colongitude11° at sunrise
FormationCopernican[2]
EponymAnaxagoras
Oblique view from Lunar Orbiter 4, with Goldschmidt and Anaxagoras in upper right

Anaxagoras is a young lunar impact crater that is located near the north pole of the Moon.[3] It lies across the larger and more heavily worn crater Goldschmidt. To the south-southeast is Epigenes, and due south is the worn remains of Birmingham.[4] Since 1900, only one instance of lunar transient phenomenon has been reported in association with this crater.[5]

Anaxagoras is a relatively recent impact crater that is young enough to still possess a ray system that has not been eroded by space weathering. The rays from the site reach a distance of over 900 kilometers from the rim, reaching Plato to the south. It is consequently mapped as part of the Copernican System.[2] Based on the spectra, this impact appears to have exposed anorthosite from below the more mafic surface covering.[6]

The crater interior has a relatively high albedo, making it a prominent feature when the Moon is nearly full. (The high latitude of the crater means that the Sun always remains close to the horizon even at maximum elevation less than a day after Full Moon.) The interior walls are steep and possess a system of terraces. The central peak is offset from the crater midpoint, and joins a low range across the crater floor.[7][8]: 3  In fact, it appears that some of the central peak material has landed outside the crater rim.[2] The infrared spectrum of pure crystalline plagioclase has been identified on the central peak, floor, and ejecta to the northeast.[9]

This crater is named after the Greek astronomer Anaxagoras (500–428 B.C.). He postulated that the Moon had a rocky, irregular surface similar to Earth.[10] Its designation was formally adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1935.[1] When Giovanni Ricciolli introduced the name into lunar nomenclature in 1651, he instead applied the name to the feature that is now called Goldschmidt.[11]

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 Anaxagoras.[12]

Anaxagoras[8]: 291  Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 72.2° N 6.9° W 18 km
B 70.3° N 11.4° W 5 km

References

  1. 1 2 "Anaxagoras". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. 1 2 3 Wilhelms, Don E.; McCauley, John F.; Trask, Newell J. (1987). The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. Plate 11: Copernican System; Figure 3.34
  3. ↑ Anunziato, Alberto (July 2022). "Wonders of the Full Moon: Northern Bright Ray Craters" (PDF). The Lunar Observer. Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers: 38. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  4. ↑ Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
  5. ↑ Buratti, Bonnie J.; et al. (July 2000). "Lunar Transient Phenomena: What Do the Clementine Images Reveal?". Icarus. 146 (1): 98–117. Bibcode:2000Icar..146...98B. doi:10.1006/icar.2000.6373.
  6. ↑ Hawke, B. R.; et al. (June 2003). "Distribution and modes of occurrence of lunar anorthosite". Journal of Geophysical Research. 108 (E6). Bibcode:2003JGRE..108.5050H. doi:10.1029/2002JE001890.
  7. ↑ Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. pp. 130, 154–159. Reprint: ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3
  8. 1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  9. ↑ Donaldson Hanna, K. L.; et al. (July 2014). "Global assessment of pure crystalline plagioclase across the Moon and implications for the evolution of the primary crust". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 119 (7): 1516–1545. Bibcode:2014JGRE..119.1516D. doi:10.1002/2013JE004476.
  10. ↑ Frankel, Charles (1996). Volcanoes of the Solar System. Cambridge University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-521-47770-3.
  11. ↑ Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. pp. 60, 210. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  12. ↑ Grego, P. (2015). "Satellite Crater". In Hargitai, H.; Kereszturi, Á. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_328.

Sources

  • Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
  • Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.
  • Exposed Fractured Bedrock in the Central Peak of the Anaxagoras Crater. NASA. April 14, 2010. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Anaxagoras (crater) at Wikimedia Commons

Archived 2019-01-07 at the Wayback Machine, LRO article, 16 April 2010

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