Hyginus is a
lunarcaldera located at the east end of the
Sinus Medii. It was named after ancient Roman astronomer
Gaius Julius Hyginus. Its rim is split by a 220 kilometer-long
rille, Rima Hyginus, that branches to the northwest and to the east-southeast. The crater is deeper than the rille, and lies at intersection of the rille's branches. Together, the crater and the rille form a prominent feature in an otherwise flat surface. Smaller craters along the length of the rille may have been caused by the collapse of an underlying structure.Hyginus is one of the few craters on the Moon that was not created as a result of an impact, and is instead believed to be
volcanic in origin. It lacks the raised outer rim that is typical with
impact craters. Hyginus was considered a possible landing site during the
Apollo Program, because it was thought to be a site of potentially active volcanism.
Comments