Aitken (crater)

lunar crater data


caption=Aitken from Apollo 17. "NASA photo."
latitude=16.8
N_or_S=S
longitude=173.4
E_or_W=E
diameter=135 km
depth="Unknown"
colong=187
eponym=Robert Aitken

Aitken is a large lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the southeast of the crater Heaviside, and north of the unusual formation Van de Graaff. Attached to the southwest rim is Vertregt. To the southeast is the smaller Bergstrand.

The inner wall of Aitken is , and varies notably in width with the narrowest portion in the southwest. The crater Aitken Z lies across the inner north wall. Just to the north of the rim is the small crater Aitken A, which is surrounded by an "ejecta" blanket of lighter albedo material. The interior floor has been resurfaced in the past by a darker albedo lava flow, especially in the southern half. There are also several small crater impacts on the eastern floor, an arcing central ridge line just to the east of the mid-point, and a line of smaller ridges in the western half.

This crater lies along the northern rim of the immense South Pole-Aitken basin, which was named after this crater and the southern lunar pole, the two extreme points of the feature.

atellite craters

By convention these features are identified on Lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Aitken.

References

External links

* [http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunar_orbiter/bin/info.shtml?40 Digital Lunar Orbiter Photo Number II-033-H3]

L&PI topographic maps of Aitken:
* [http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/LTO/lto86d4_1/ LTO-86D4 Aitken Borealis]
* [http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/LTO/lto104a1_1/ LTO-104A1 Aitken Australis]