Aristarchus (crater)

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Aristarchus is a lunar crater in the northwest of the near side of the Moon. With almost twice as high compared to the rest of the lunar surface albedo, he is regarded as the brightest of the large formations. The crater is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, and appears dazzling in larger telescopes. It can be even more easily detected when the moon's surface is mostly lit only by the earthshine.

The crater is located at 23.7 ° N, 47.4 ° W on the southeastern edge of the Aristarchus Plateau. The plateau is known for volcanic phenomena such as groove structures, numerous observations of luminous phenomena ( Lunar Transient Phenomena ), and radon emissions, which were measured by the probe Lunar Prospector.

In a northeasterly direction from the crater of the moon run multiple grooves Rimae Aristarchus, partly toward Aristarchus C, part a little bit farther to the northwest of the crater Prinz, ending west of warriors C.

The Italian cartographer Giovanni Riccioli named the crater after Aristarchus of Samos. In his 1651 published work Almagestum novum he gave later known as crater structures on the moon, the names of famous astronomers and philosophers ( eponym ). Although already widely in use, the name until 1935 when a vote of the International Astronomical Union ( IAU ) was registered as an official international standard.