Ariadaeus (crater)

Ariadaeus
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates4°36′N 17°18′E / 4.6°N 17.3°E / 4.6; 17.3
Diameter10.4 km (6.5 mi)[1]
Depth1.8 km (1.1 mi)
Colongitude342° at sunrise
EponymPhilippus Arrhidaeus
Oblique view from Apollo 10, with Ariadaeus in lower left and Rima Ariadaeus extending to the horizon
Rimae Ariadaeus from Apollo 10. NASA photo.

Ariadaeus is a small, bowl-shaped lunar impact crater on the western shores of Mare Tranquillitatis. It lies to the north of the crater Dionysius, and to the west-southwest of Arago.[2]: 60  The crater is joined along the northeast rim by the slightly smaller Ariadaeus A, and the two form a double-crater.[3] Its diameter is 10.4 km.[1]

This crater marks the eastern extent of the rille[4] designated Rima Ariadaeus.[5] This wide rille extends in a nearly straight line to the west-northwest, passing just to the north of the crater Silberschlag.[6] Other rille systems lie in the vicinity, including the Rimae Ritter to the southeast and Rimae Sosigenes to the northeast.[3]

The crater was named after Macedonian king Philip III Arrhidaeus (c. 358-317 B.C.).[7] This name was formally adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1935.[1] The introduction of this name into lunar nomenclature is attributed to Italian astronomer Giovanni Riccioli in 1651, although he assigned it to the crater now called Dionysius.[8]

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 Ariadaeus.[9]

Ariadaeus[2]: 292  Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 4.6° N 17.5° E 8 km
B 4.9° N 15.0° E 8 km
D 4.9° N 17.0° E 4 km
E 5.3° N 17.7° E 24 km
F 4.4° N 18.0° E 3 km

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ariadaeus". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. 1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  3. 1 2 Grego, Peter (2005). The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers' Observing Guides Series. London: Springer-Verlag. pp. 131–132. ISBN 1-85233-748-6.
  4. ↑ Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
  5. ↑ Sanders, R. L.; Greene, W. M. (December 1966). Lunar Terrain Analysis (PDF). Proceedings of the Interdisciplinary Symposiums on Apollo Application Programs. NASA Technical Memorandum X-53558. George C. Marshall SpaceFlight Center, Huntsville, Alabama: NASA. p. 30. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
  6. ↑ Wilkinson, John (2010). The Moon in Close-up: A Next Generation Astronomer's Guide. The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 194. ISBN 978-3-642-14805-7.
  7. ↑ Rükl, Antonín (1991). Atlas of the Moon. Hamlyn. p. 96.
  8. ↑ Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. pp. 60, 210. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  9. ↑ 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.
  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.
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