Marius (crater)

Coordinates: 11°54′N 50°48′W / 11.9°N 50.8°W / 11.9; -50.8
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Marius
Colongitude
50° at sunrise
EponymSimon Marius
Apollo 12 photo

Marius is a

lunar maria. The nearest named crater feature is Reiner to the southwest. Kepler is located to the east-southeast, and rays
from that formation reach the rim of Marius.

Rima Marius, with Marius crater itself at right, from Apollo 15
Oblique view of eastern Marius Hills with Marius Crater in upper right by Lunar Orbiter 2

The floor of Marius has been flooded by basaltic lava, and the surface is relatively smooth and flat. There is no central rise, but a small craterlet Marius G lies in the northeast part of the floor. The crater rim is low and generally circular in form.

The area of this crater was one of the locations proposed for an Apollo mission, but the expedition was subsequently cancelled. About 50 kilometres to the southeast was the landing site of the Luna 7 probe.

One of the numerous

moon colonization should the hole connect to a long enough section of ancient lava tube
.

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 Marius.

Marius Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 12.6° N 46.0° W 15 km
B 16.3° N 47.3° W 12 km
C 14.0° N 47.6° W 11 km
D 11.4° N 45.0° W 9 km
E 12.1° N 52.7° W 6 km
F 12.1° N 45.3° W 6 km
G 12.1° N 50.6° W 3 km
H 11.3° N 50.3° W 5 km
J 10.5° N 46.9° W 3 km
K 9.4° N 50.6° W 4 km
L 15.9° N 55.7° W 8 km
M 17.4° N 54.9° W 6 km
N 18.7° N 54.7° W 4 km
P 17.9° N 51.3° W 4 km
Q 16.5° N 56.2° W 5 km
R 13.6° N 50.3° W 5 km
S 13.9° N 47.1° W 7 km
U 9.6° N 47.6° W 3 km
V 9.9° N 48.3° W 2 km
W 9.4° N 49.7° W 3 km
X 9.7° N 54.9° W 5 km
Y 9.8° N 50.7° W 2 km

Popular culture

Within the Sega CD RPG Lunar: The Silver Star (and all subsequent remakes) there is a region called the Marius Zone, which is named after the Marius crater.

References

  • Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
  • Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
  • .
  • Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. .
  • McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  • Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186.
    S2CID 122125855
    .
  • .
  • Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. .
  • .
  • .
  • .
  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. .

External links