Apianus (crater)

Apianus
Coordinates 26°54′S 7°54′E / 26.9°S 7.9°E / -26.9; 7.9Coordinates: 26°54′S 7°54′E / 26.9°S 7.9°E / -26.9; 7.9
Diameter 63.44 km
Depth 2.08 km
Colongitude 356° at sunrise
Eponym Petrus Apianus

Apianus is a lunar impact crater that is located on the rugged south-central highlands of the Moon.[1] It is located to the northeast of the crater Aliacensis, and to the northwest of Poisson, further north is Playfair. The worn crater Krusenstern is attached to the west-northwestern rim.

Description

The outer wall of the crater has been worn and eroded by subsequent impacts, and a pair of small craterlets overlay the rim to the southeast and northeast. The central crater is 63 kilometers in diameter and 2,080 meters deep.[2] The craterlet on the southeast rim, Apianus B, is a member of a cluster of co-joined craterlets that includes Apianus T and Apianus U. The interior floor of the central crater is relatively smooth and lacks a central peak, although the surface appears somewhat convex. Only a few tiny craterlets mark the surface.[3]

A variety of other nearby craters and craterlets belong to Apianus.

The crater is from the Nectarian period, 3.92 to 3.85 billion years ago.[2]

Names

Apianus is named after 16th century German mathematician and astronomer Petrus Apianus.,[2] it was given its name by Giovanni Riccioli, whose 1651 nomenclature system has become standardized.[4][5] The name applies as official international standard since 1935 and is registered at the International Astronomical Union (IAU).[6] Earlier lunar cartographers had given the feature different names. Michael van Langren's 1645 map calls it "Lennoxis" after a Duke of Lennox of the early 17th century.[7][8] And Johannes Hevelius called it "Cydises Mons" of the ancient world.[9][10]

Satellite craters

Apianus crater and its satellite craters taken from Earth in 2012 at the University of Hertfordshire's Bayfordbury Observatory with the telescopes Meade LX200 14" and Lumenera Skynyx 2-1

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Apianus.[11]

Apianus Latitude Longitude Diameter Ref
A 25.7° S 6.6° E 13.11 km WGPSN
B 27.4° S 9.0° E 10.21 km WGPSN
C 28.1° S 10.5° E 19.64 km WGPSN
D 26.1° S 10.7° E 33.66 km WGPSN
E 28.8° S 8.2° E 8.39 km WGPSN
F 28.1° S 6.4° E 5.39 km WGPSN
G 28.1° S 7.7° E 4.02 km WGPSN
H 28.1° S 8.7° E 6.57 km WGPSN
J 26.3° S 8.6° E 6.71 km WGPSN
K 27.4° S 9.3° E 6.44 km WGPSN
L 29.1° S 10.9° E 4.67 km WGPSN
M 24.7° S 10.3° E 6.98 km WGPSN
N 28.8° S 9.9° E 3.46 km WGPSN
P 25.2° S 9.2° E 41.59 km WGPSN
R 25.7° S 8.9° E 13.1 km WGPSN
S 25.6° S 8.5° E 23.96 km WGPSN
T 27.7° S 9.5° E 11.52 km WGPSN
U 27.9° S 9.0° E 16.82 km WGPSN
V 25.3° S 10.5° E 3.2 km WGPSN
W 25.5° S 7.4° E 9.68 km WGPSN
X 28.3° S 7.1° E 3.1 km WGPSN

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Apianus (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. 1 2 3 Autostar Suite Astronomer Edition. CD-ROM. Meade, April 2006.
  3. ↑ Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-913135-17-8.
  4. ↑ Ewen A. Whitaker, Mapping and Naming the Moon (Cambridge University Press, 1999), p.61.
  5. ↑ Riccioli map of the Moon (1651)
  6. ↑ M. A. Blagg; K. Müller; W. H. Wesley; S. A. Saunder; J. H. G. Franz (1935). Named Lunar Formations. London: Percy Lund, Humphries & Co. Ltd.
  7. ↑ Ewen A. Whitaker, Mapping and Naming the Moon (Cambridge University Press, 1999), p. 198.
  8. ↑ Langrenus map of the Moon (1645)
  9. ↑ Ewen A. Whitaker, Mapping and Naming the Moon (Cambridge University Press, 1999), p. 204.
  10. ↑ Hevelius map of the Moon (1647)
  11. ↑ Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81528-2.
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