Herodotus (crater)

Herodotus

Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Diameter	35 km
Depth	1.5 km
Colongitude	49° at sunrise
Eponym	Herodotus

Herodotus is to the right in this view to the south from Apollo 15. NASA photo.

Herodotus Omega (Lunar Orbiter 4 image)

Herodotus is a lunar crater located on a low shelf in the midst of the Oceanus Procellarum. To the east is the slightly larger crater Aristarchus. West across the mare is Schiaparelli. Almost due south on the mare surface is a solitary lunar dome designated Herodotus Omega (ω).

The crater Herodotus has a slightly irregular, narrow rim that appears somewhat oblong due to foreshortening. The inner floor has been flooded with lava, and has a lower albedo than its brighter and more prominent neighbor Aristarchus. There is a small craterlet overlapping the northwest rim, but otherwise the outer wall has not suffered significant wear. Nevertheless the rim is unusually thin in relation to its size.

To the north of Herodotus is the start of the Vallis Schröteri, a valley that has a length of 160 kilometers and a maximum depth of nearly a kilometer. It begins at a small crater 25 km north of the rim, then winds across the surface to the north, before turning northwest and finally to the southwest before coming to a precipitous end at the edge of the raised shelf on which Herodotus is located. The valley is wider at its crater head than elsewhere, which has given it the nickname of the "Cobra Head".

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 Herodotus.

Herodotus	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	21.5° N	52.0° W	10 km
B	22.6° N	55.4° W	6 km
C	21.9° N	55.0° W	5 km
E	29.5° N	51.8° W	48 km
G	24.7° N	50.2° W	4 km
H	26.8° N	50.0° W	6 km
K	24.5° N	51.9° W	5 km
L	26.1° N	53.2° W	4 km
N	23.7° N	50.0° W	4 km
R	27.3° N	53.9° W	4 km
S	27.7° N	53.4° W	4 km
T	27.9° N	53.8° W	5 km

The following craters have been renamed by the IAU.

• Herodotus D — See Raman.

References

• Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• 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. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revision ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)