Apianus (crater)

Crater on the Moon

Feature on the moon

26°54′S 7°54′E / 26.9°S 7.9°E / -26.9; 7.9Diameter63.44 kmDepth2.08 kmColongitude356° at sunriseEponymPetrus Apianus

Apianus is a lunar impact crater that is located on the rugged south-central highlands of the Moon. It is named after 16th century German mathematician and astronomer Petrus Apianus.^[1]^[2] It is located to the northeast of the crater Aliacensis, and to the northwest of Poisson. 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.^[1] 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]

The crater is from the Nectarian period, 3.92 to 3.85 billion years ago.^[1]

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 Apianus.^[4]

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

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Autostar Suite Astronomer Edition. CD-ROM. Meade, April 2006.
^ "Apianus (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
^ Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-913135-17-8.
^ Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81528-2.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Apianus (crater).

Crater Apianus in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature of the Astrogeology Research Program of the United States Geological Survey
Crater Apianus: Lunar Map LAC-95 of the Aeronautical Chart and Information Center of the United States Air Force in the Lunar Map Catalog of the Lunar and Planetary Institute
Crater Apianus: Available Lunar Maps according to the Astrogeology Research Program of the United States Geological Survey
Crater Apianus in the Digital Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon of the Lunar and Planetary Institute - Image IV-095-H3
Crater Apianus in the Digital Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon of the Lunar and Planetary Institute - Image IV-096-H1
Crater Apianus in the Digital Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon of the Lunar and Planetary Institute - Image IV-096-M
Crater Apianus in the Digital Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon of the Lunar and Planetary Institute - Image IV-100-H3
Crater Apianus in the Digital Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon of the Lunar and Planetary Institute - Image IV-101-H1