- Faustini (crater)
lunar crater data
latitude=87.3
N_or_S=S
longitude=77.0
E_or_W=E
diameter=39 km
depth="Unknown"
colong=295
eponym=Arnaldo Faustini Faustini is a lunar crater that lies near the south pole of the
Moon . It is located nearly due south of the much larger Amundsen crater, and is almost attached to Shoemaker crater to the southwest. About one crater diameter due south is the smaller Shackleton crater at the south pole. A small crater is attached to the eastern rim of Faustini.Due to its location, sunlight reaches the rim of this crater at a very low angle, leaving the interior in permanent darkness. As a result the crater floor has never been observed by orbiting spacecraft, although it has been roughly mapped by
radar . The lack of illumination by theSun , the interior remains at a permanent temperature below 100kelvin s, cold enough to trap any water vapor that reaches the crater followingcomet impacts on the Moon.The
Lunar Prospector spacecraft carried aneutron spectrometer that could be used to detect the presence of large concentrations ofhydrogen . The cold trap within Faustini crater was identified as having a high concentration of hydrogen, relative to the norm for the lunar surface. However, radar observations of this crater failed to detect ice.References
* cite news
title=Arecibo radar shows no evidence of thick ice at lunar poles, despite data from previous spacecraft probes, researchers say
publisher=Cornell University News
date=November 12, 2003
url=http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Nov03/radar.moonpoles.deb.html
accessdate=2007-08-08However, radar observations of this crater failed to detect ice on the surface of the crater floor.
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