This image, taken on the 20th of June, encompasses the area that appears to join two of the major ‘seas’ on the Moon. Toward the left is Mare Imbrium (Sea of Showers). Toward the right is Mare Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity). The line between the dark (nighttime) side and the bright (daytime) side is called the terminator.
Even though most of Mare Imbrium is deep in shadow, a couple of objects do stand out. The most prominent is the bright ‘T’ shaped object left of the terminator half way up from the image center. This is Mons Piton. The mountain’s peak at 8,366 feet is high enough that it is in sunlight while the surrounding terrain is still in the shadow of the Moon. Another object visible in the shadows is the eastern rim of the crater Archimedes. The crater is left of the terminator and slightly southwest of crater Autolycus. The rim is not as high as Mons Piton so there is less in the light.
One other object of note is right of the terminator in the mountainous region toward the bottom. It is a mountain labeled Mons Hadley. Left of the the peak down in the shadows is Hadley Rille. The sinuous rille is about 80 miles long and was the primary target of study by Apollo 15. The rille is just west of Falcon’s landing site. Astronauts David Scott and James Irwin spent 3 days in the vicinity of the rille. At the landing location the rille was estimated to be about 1,200 feet deep and roughly 3,200 feet across.
|
|