Astronomy:Dawes (lunar crater)

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Short description: Lunar impact crater
Dawes
Dawes crater moon.jpg
Dawes from Apollo 17. NASA photo.
Diameter18 km
Depth2.3 km
Colongitude334° at sunrise

Dawes is a lunar impact crater located in the wide straight between Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquilitatis. To its southwest lies the larger crater Plinius, and to its northeast sits the Mons Argaeus mountain rise. It is named after British astronomer William Rutter Dawes.[1]

Oblique view facing south from Apollo 17
Layers of mare basalt affected the paths of granular material that flowed down the crater wall. The top of the image is down-slope. From LRO.

Description

Dawes is circular with a sharp rim that has a slightly flattened oval perimeter. It has a slight central rise, and a somewhat darker floor that is nearly covered in overlapping swirl-like deposits. Much of the deposits are slumped or fall-back material. The inner walls are steep and free from impact erosion. Northeast of Dawes is a rille known as Rima Dawes.

Detailed examination of this crater has located what appear to be alcoves and channels along the inner rim. It is hypothesized that micrometeorite impacts along the rim trigger dry landslides, which produce a gully-like appearance. A similar phenomenon may be responsible for gully-like features along the inner rim of some Martian craters.[2]

References

  1. "Dawes (lunar crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. Stiles, Lori (2006-03-10). "Water May Not Have Formed Mars' Recent Gullies". University of Arizona. http://uanews.org/story/water-may-not-have-formed-mars-recent-gullies. 

External links

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