Epimenides (crater)
Epimenides is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southwestern part of the Moon's near side, just to the east of the oddly shaped crater Hainzel. Just to the north and northeast is Lacus Timoris, a small lunar mare. The crater is 27 kilometers in diameter and 2,000 meters deep. It may be from the Pre-Nectarian period, 4.55 to 3.92 billion years ago.[1]
 Lunar Orbiter 4 image, with Epimenides at top and Epimenides S at bottom | |
| Coordinates | 40.9°S 30.2°W |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 27 km |
| Depth | 2.0 km |
| Colongitude | 30° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Epimenides |
The outer rim of this crater is roughly circular, but uneven due to the irregular terrain in which it is located. The southern edge is distended where a smaller formation has overlapped the side. The interior floor is relatively level and featureless. About five kilometers southeast from the crater's southern edge is the satellite crater Epimenides S, which is almost the same size as the main crater and is nearly circular, except for a craterlet making an indentation in its eastern side.[2]
The crater is named for the 6th-century BC Cretan poet and prophet Epimenides.[1]
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Epimenides.[3]
| Epimenides | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 43.2° S | 30.1° W | 15 km |
| B | 41.6° S | 28.8° W | 10 km |
| C | 42.3° S | 27.5° W | 4 km |
| S | 41.6° S | 29.3° W | 26 km |
References
- Autostar Suite Astronomer Edition. CD-ROM. Meade, April 2006.
- Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-913135-17-8.
- Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81528-2.
