Dawes (lunar crater)

For other uses, see Dawes (disambiguation).

Dawes (lunar crater)

Dawes from Apollo 17. NASA photo.
Coordinates	17°12′N 26°24′E / 17.2°N 26.4°E / 17.2; 26.4Coordinates: 17°12′N 26°24′E / 17.2°N 26.4°E / 17.2; 26.4
Diameter	18 km
Depth	2.3 km
Colongitude	334° at sunrise
Eponym	William R. Dawes

Dawes is a lunar impact crater, named after William Rutter Dawes, and which is located in the wide straight between Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquilitatis. To the southwest is the larger crater Plinius. To the northeast is the Mons Argaeus mountain rise.

This is a circular crater 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.

Detailed examination of this crater have 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.

References

• Stiles, Lori (2006-03-16). "Water May Not Have Formed Mars' Recent Gullies". University of Arizona. http://uanews.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/UANews.woa/7/wa/SciDetails?ArticleID=12376. Retrieved 2006-06-12. 

• 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. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/. Retrieved 2007-08-05. 
• Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81528-2. 
• Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 0-936389-27-3. 
• McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. http://host.planet4589.org/astro/lunar/. 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.  edit
• Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 0-304-35469-4. 
• Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-33500-0. 
• Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-913135-17-8. 
• Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revision ed.). Dover. ISBN 0-486-20917-2. 
• Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62248-4. 
• Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 1-85233-193-3. 

External links

• LTO-42C3 Dawes — L&PI topographic map