Ariadaeus (crater)

Ariadaeus

Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates	4.6°N 17.3°E / 4.6; 17.3
Diameter	10.4 km
Depth	1.8 km
Colongitude	342° at sunrise
Eponym	Philippus Arrhidaeus

Oblique view from Apollo 10, with Ariadaeus in lower left and Rima Ariadaeus extending to the horizon

Ariadaeus is a small, bowl-shaped lunar impact crater on the western shores of Mare Tranquillitatis. It lies to the north of the crater Dionysius, and to the west-southwest of Arago. The crater is joined along the northeast rim by the slightly smaller Ariadaeus A, and the two form a double-crater. Its diameter is 10.4 km.^[1]

Rimae Ariadaeus from Apollo 10. NASA photo.

This crater marks the eastern extent of the rille designated Rima Ariadaeus. This wide rille extends in a nearly straight line to the west-northwest, passing just to the north of the crater Silberschlag. Other rille systems lie in the vicinity, including the Rimae Ritter to the southeast and Rimae Sosigenes to the northeast.

The crater was named after Philip III of Macedon (Arrhidaeus).^[1][2]

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 Ariadaeus.

Ariadaeus	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	4.6° N	17.5° E	8 km
B	4.9° N	15.0° E	8 km
D	4.9° N	17.0° E	4 km
E	5.3° N	17.7° E	24 km
F	4.4° N	18.0° E	3 km

Notes

1. "Ariadaeus (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
2. Antonín Rükl, Atlas of the Moon (Hamlyn, 1991), p. 96.

References

• Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
• Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
• Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
• 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. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID 122125855.
• Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
• Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
• Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
• Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
• Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
• Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.

External links

• Lunar Orbiter 2 frame 59, showing Ariadaeus B in high resolution