Contains:  Solar system body or event
Crater Petavius - a colour image, Niall MacNeill

Crater Petavius - a colour image

Acquisition type: Lucky imaging
Crater Petavius - a colour image, Niall MacNeill

Crater Petavius - a colour image

Acquisition type: Lucky imaging

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Description

This is a close up image of the crater Petavius, which is 155 kms in diameter. We always see this elliptical side on view as the crater in the Mare Fecunditatis is on the south western limb of the moon. It is difficult to image because it is only in relief on the 3rd day of the new moon , when the moon is low to the horizon and the seeing is often poor. In this instance the seeing was fair to good, such that a reasonably sharp image was possible.

The crater Wrottesley (57kms) is in the foreground, whilst on the other side the crater Palitszch merges into Valles Palitszch. The small crater at the top the image on the larger crater's rim is Petavius C.

Petavius is Imbrium in age 3.2-3.8 billion years old and has an unusual double rim along the south and west sides. From Wikipedia "The large central mountains are a prominent formation with multiple peaks, climbing 1.7 kilometers above the floor. A deep fracture runs from the peaks toward the southwest rim of the crater."

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Crater Petavius - a colour image, Niall MacNeill