Alphonsus is an ancient impact crater on the Moon that dates from the pre-Nectarian era.[1] It is located on the lunar highlands on the eastern end of Mare Nubium, west of the Imbrian Highlands, and slightly overlaps the crater Ptolemaeus to the north. To the southwest is the smaller Alpetragius.
The surface of Alphonsus is broken and irregular along its boundary with Ptolemaeus. The outer walls are slightly distorted and possess a somewhat hexagonal form.
A low ridge system of deposited ejecta bisects the crater floor, and includes the steep central peak designated Alphonsus Alpha (α). This pyramid-shaped formation rises to a height of 1.5 km above the interior surface. It is not volcanic in origin, but rather is made of anorthosite like the lunar highlands.
The floor is fractured by an elaborate system of rilles and contains four or five smaller craters surrounded by a symmetric darker halo. These dark-halo craters are cinder cone-shaped and are believed by some to be volcanic in origin, although others think they were caused by impacts that excavated darker mare material from underneath the lighter lunar regolith.
Exploration
The Ranger 9 probe impacted in Alphonsus, a short distance to the northeast of the central peak. Harold Urey said of a close-up photograph of Alphonsus:
The floor is covered with many craters of various sizes, some sharp and hence new, others less distinct and partly filled with fragmented material. The walls have fewer craters, and this probably means that slumping of the wall has filled them. Crevasses are evident, and evidence for slumping exists. The larger crater near the top is undoubtedly collisional in origin. Three craters are surrounded by dark halos and were produced by eruptions from the lunar interior. Exceptionally bright, sharp peaks can be seen on certain mountain tops.[2]
Alphonsus was one of the primary alternative landing sites considered for both the Apollo 16 and the Apollo 17 missions.[citation needed]
Transient lunar phenomena
Alphonsus is one of the sites noted for transient lunar phenomena, as glowing red-hued clouds have been reported emanating from the crater. On October 26, 1956, the lunar astronomerDinsmore Alter noted some blurring of the rilles on the floor of Alphonsus in the photographs he took in violet light. The same blurring did not occur in the infrared photographs he took at the same time. However, few professional astronomers found this evidence of volcanic activity on the Moon very convincing.[3]
One astronomer who was intrigued by Alter's observations was Nikolai A. Kozyrev, from the Soviet Union. In 1958 while Kozyrev was looking for volcanic phenomenon on the moon, he observed the formation of a mist-like cloud within Alphonsus.[4] The spectrum of the area had been measured at this time, and displayed indications of carbon matter, possibly C2 gas. He believed this to be the result of volcanic or related activity. However no evidence for this phenomenon has been found from lunar missions, and the emission results have never been confirmed.[5]
Names
Alphonsus is named after King Alfonso X of Castile (known as "Alfonso the Wise"), who had an interest in astronomy.[6] Like many of the craters on the Moon's near side, it was given its name by Giovanni Riccioli, whose 1651 nomenclature system has become standardized; Riccioli originally named it "Alphonsus Rex" ('King Alfonso'), but the 'Rex' was later dropped.[7] Earlier lunar cartographers had given the feature different names. Michael van Langren's 1645 map calls it "Ludovici XIV, Reg. Fran.", after Louis XIV of France,[8] and Johannes Hevelius called it "Mons Masicytus" after a range of mountains in Lycia.[9]
Interior craters
Oblique view of the five small named craters: C = Chang-Ngo, R = Ravi, M = Monira, J = Jose, S = Soraya. Facing south with sun illuminating from left. North on the photo is on the bottom
Ranger 9 image showing rilles on the floor of the crater
Five tiny craters in the northeastern part of Alphonsus' interior floor have been assigned names by the IAU. These are listed in the table below.
Alphonsus crater and its satellite craters taken from Earth in 2012 at the University of Hertfordshire's Bayfordbury Observatory with the telescopes Meade LX200 14" and Lumenera Skynyx 2-1
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Alphonsus.
Alphonsus
Latitude
Longitude
Diameter
A
14.8° S
2.3° W
4 km
B
13.2° S
0.2° W
24 km
C
14.4° S
4.8° W
4 km
D
15.1° S
0.8° W
23 km
G
12.3° S
3.3° W
4 km
H
15.6° S
0.5° W
8 km
J
15.1° S
2.5° W
8 km
K
12.5° S
0.1° W
20 km
L
12.0° S
3.7° W
4 km
R
14.4° S
1.9° W
3 km
X
15.0° S
4.4° W
5 km
Y
14.7° S
1.8° W
3 km
References
^Ambrose, W.A. "ORIGIN, DISTRIBUTION, AND CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHY OF ASYMMETRIC SECONDARY CRATERS ASSOCIATED WITH NEARSIDE LUNAR BASINS" (PDF). Bureau of Economic Geology. University of Texas at Austin, TX. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
^EXPLORING SPACE WITH A CAMERA, Section 2, To The Moon and Beyond, NASA Special Publication 168 (SP-168)
^Oepik, E.J. "Cratering and the moon's surface". Armagh Observatory. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Maryland. hdl:2060/19690007782.
Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN978-0-936389-27-1.
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.
Wood, Chuck (2005-04-06). . Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on 2006-05-14. Retrieved 2006-07-21.
Cortright, Edgar M. (1968). "Rangers Bring the Moon Up Close". SP-168 Exploring Space with a Camera. NASA Langley Research Center. p. 48.
Alter, Dinsmore (1957). "A Suspected Partial Obscuration of the Floor of Alphonsus". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 69 (407): 158. Bibcode:1957PASP...69..158A. doi:10.1086/127036.
Alter, Dinsmore (1959). "The Kozyrev Observations of Alphonsus". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 71 (418): 46. Bibcode:1959PASP...71...46A. doi:10.1086/127330.
Compton, W. David (1989). "Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration Missions". NASA. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alphonsus (crater).
Alphonsus at The Moon Wiki 2015-11-09 at the Wayback Machine
Rimae Alphonsus at The Moon Wiki
Alphonsus crater mantled floor fracture, from LROC
Lunar Orbiter map and photo of Alphonsus
Other related articles
Wood, Chuck (May 15, 2004). . Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on May 30, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
Wood, Chuck (May 21, 2004). . Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on May 30, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
Wood, Chuck (October 31, 2004). . Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017. - one of three craters making up a Triad which includes Alphonsus
Wood, Chuck (July 10, 2006). . Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011.
Wood, Chuck (September 16, 2006). . Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011.
Wood, Chuck (November 27, 2006). . Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011.
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus and Arzachel (9 February 2007)
Wood, Chuck (February 13, 2007). . Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011.
January 22, 2023
alphonsus, crater, alphonsus, ancient, impact, crater, moon, that, dates, from, nectarian, located, lunar, highlands, eastern, mare, nubium, west, imbrian, highlands, slightly, overlaps, crater, ptolemaeus, north, southwest, smaller, alpetragius, alphonsuslro,. Alphonsus is an ancient impact crater on the Moon that dates from the pre Nectarian era 1 It is located on the lunar highlands on the eastern end of Mare Nubium west of the Imbrian Highlands and slightly overlaps the crater Ptolemaeus to the north To the southwest is the smaller Alpetragius AlphonsusLRO imageCoordinates13 24 S 2 48 W 13 4 S 2 8 W 13 4 2 8 Coordinates 13 24 S 2 48 W 13 4 S 2 8 W 13 4 2 8Diameter119 kmDepth2 7 kmColongitude4 at sunriseEponymAlfonso XAlphonsus crater appears in the right half of this image taken by Ranger 7 NASA photo Contents 1 Description 2 Exploration 3 Transient lunar phenomena 4 Names 5 Interior craters 6 Satellite craters 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links 9 1 Other related articlesDescription EditThe surface of Alphonsus is broken and irregular along its boundary with Ptolemaeus The outer walls are slightly distorted and possess a somewhat hexagonal form A low ridge system of deposited ejecta bisects the crater floor and includes the steep central peak designated Alphonsus Alpha a This pyramid shaped formation rises to a height of 1 5 km above the interior surface It is not volcanic in origin but rather is made of anorthosite like the lunar highlands The floor is fractured by an elaborate system of rilles and contains four or five smaller craters surrounded by a symmetric darker halo These dark halo craters are cinder cone shaped and are believed by some to be volcanic in origin although others think they were caused by impacts that excavated darker mare material from underneath the lighter lunar regolith Exploration EditThe Ranger 9 probe impacted in Alphonsus a short distance to the northeast of the central peak Harold Urey said of a close up photograph of Alphonsus The floor is covered with many craters of various sizes some sharp and hence new others less distinct and partly filled with fragmented material The walls have fewer craters and this probably means that slumping of the wall has filled them Crevasses are evident and evidence for slumping exists The larger crater near the top is undoubtedly collisional in origin Three craters are surrounded by dark halos and were produced by eruptions from the lunar interior Exceptionally bright sharp peaks can be seen on certain mountain tops 2 Alphonsus was one of the primary alternative landing sites considered for both the Apollo 16 and the Apollo 17 missions citation needed Transient lunar phenomena EditAlphonsus is one of the sites noted for transient lunar phenomena as glowing red hued clouds have been reported emanating from the crater On October 26 1956 the lunar astronomer Dinsmore Alter noted some blurring of the rilles on the floor of Alphonsus in the photographs he took in violet light The same blurring did not occur in the infrared photographs he took at the same time However few professional astronomers found this evidence of volcanic activity on the Moon very convincing 3 One astronomer who was intrigued by Alter s observations was Nikolai A Kozyrev from the Soviet Union In 1958 while Kozyrev was looking for volcanic phenomenon on the moon he observed the formation of a mist like cloud within Alphonsus 4 The spectrum of the area had been measured at this time and displayed indications of carbon matter possibly C2 gas He believed this to be the result of volcanic or related activity However no evidence for this phenomenon has been found from lunar missions and the emission results have never been confirmed 5 Names EditAlphonsus is named after King Alfonso X of Castile known as Alfonso the Wise who had an interest in astronomy 6 Like many of the craters on the Moon s near side it was given its name by Giovanni Riccioli whose 1651 nomenclature system has become standardized Riccioli originally named it Alphonsus Rex King Alfonso but the Rex was later dropped 7 Earlier lunar cartographers had given the feature different names Michael van Langren s 1645 map calls it Ludovici XIV Reg Fran after Louis XIV of France 8 and Johannes Hevelius called it Mons Masicytus after a range of mountains in Lycia 9 Interior craters Edit Oblique view of the five small named craters C Chang Ngo R Ravi M Monira J Jose S Soraya Facing south with sun illuminating from left North on the photo is on the bottom Ranger 9 image showing rilles on the floor of the crater Five tiny craters in the northeastern part of Alphonsus interior floor have been assigned names by the IAU These are listed in the table below Crater Coordinates Diameter Name sourceChang Ngo 12 42 S 2 06 W 12 7 S 2 1 W 12 7 2 1 3 km Chinese goddess of the moonJose 12 42 S 1 36 W 12 7 S 1 6 W 12 7 1 6 2 km Spanish masculine nameMonira 12 36 S 1 42 W 12 6 S 1 7 W 12 6 1 7 2 km Arabic feminine nameRavi 12 30 S 1 54 W 12 5 S 1 9 W 12 5 1 9 2 5 km Indian masculine nameSoraya 12 54 S 1 36 W 12 9 S 1 6 W 12 9 1 6 2 km Persian feminine nameSatellite craters Edit Alphonsus crater and its satellite craters taken from Earth in 2012 at the University of Hertfordshire s Bayfordbury Observatory with the telescopes Meade LX200 14 and Lumenera Skynyx 2 1 By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Alphonsus Alphonsus Latitude Longitude DiameterA 14 8 S 2 3 W 4 kmB 13 2 S 0 2 W 24 kmC 14 4 S 4 8 W 4 kmD 15 1 S 0 8 W 23 kmG 12 3 S 3 3 W 4 kmH 15 6 S 0 5 W 8 kmJ 15 1 S 2 5 W 8 kmK 12 5 S 0 1 W 20 kmL 12 0 S 3 7 W 4 kmR 14 4 S 1 9 W 3 kmX 15 0 S 4 4 W 5 kmY 14 7 S 1 8 W 3 kmReferences Edit Ambrose W A ORIGIN DISTRIBUTION AND CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHY OF ASYMMETRIC SECONDARY CRATERS ASSOCIATED WITH NEARSIDE LUNAR BASINS PDF Bureau of Economic Geology University of Texas at Austin TX Retrieved 25 September 2013 EXPLORING SPACE WITH A CAMERA Section 2 To The Moon and Beyond NASA Special Publication 168 SP 168 Dinsmore 1957 69 158 Oepik E J Cratering and the moon s surface Armagh Observatory Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Maryland hdl 2060 19690007782 Dinsmore 1957 71 46 Alphonsus crater Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature USGS Astrogeology Research Program Ewen A Whitaker Mapping and Naming the Moon Cambridge University Press 1999 p 210 Ewen A Whitaker Mapping and Naming the Moon Cambridge University Press 1999 p 198 Ewen A Whitaker Mapping and Naming the Moon Cambridge University Press 1999 p 205 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 Rukl Antonin 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 Further reading EditWood Chuck 2005 04 06 Micro Topo Lunar Photo of the Day Archived from the original on 2006 05 14 Retrieved 2006 07 21 Cortright Edgar M 1968 Rangers Bring the Moon Up Close SP 168 Exploring Space with a Camera NASA Langley Research Center p 48 Alter Dinsmore 1957 A Suspected Partial Obscuration of the Floor of Alphonsus Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 69 407 158 Bibcode 1957PASP 69 158A doi 10 1086 127036 Alter Dinsmore 1959 The Kozyrev Observations of Alphonsus Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 71 418 46 Bibcode 1959PASP 71 46A doi 10 1086 127330 Compton W David 1989 Where No Man Has Gone Before A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration Missions NASA Retrieved 2007 02 09 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alphonsus crater Alphonsus at The Moon Wiki Archived 2015 11 09 at the Wayback Machine Rimae Alphonsus at The Moon Wiki Alphonsus crater mantled floor fracture from LROC Lunar Orbiter map and photo of AlphonsusOther related articles Edit Wood Chuck May 15 2004 The Golden Triad Lunar Photo of the Day Archived from the original on May 30 2018 Retrieved September 16 2017 Wood Chuck May 21 2004 Volcanic Craters on the Moon Lunar Photo of the Day Archived from the original on May 30 2018 Retrieved September 16 2017 Wood Chuck October 31 2004 Sunrise and Sunset on the Triade Lunar Photo of the Day Archived from the original on October 14 2017 Retrieved October 14 2017 one of three craters making up a Triad which includes Alphonsus Wood Chuck July 10 2006 Craters and Papers Lunar Photo of the Day Archived from the original on June 14 2011 Wood Chuck September 16 2006 Just Another Glorious Image Lunar Photo of the Day Archived from the original on June 14 2011 Wood Chuck November 27 2006 A Long Line in the Matter of Confidence Lunar Photo of the Day Archived from the original on June 14 2011 NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Ptolemaeus Alphonsus and Arzachel 9 February 2007 Wood Chuck February 13 2007 New Observations of a Well Known Area Lunar Photo of the Day Archived from the original on June 14 2011 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alphonsus crater amp oldid 1073796723, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
