
August 23, 2007
Southern Moonscape

August 23, 2007
Southern Moonscape
A little universe, just for you
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APOD published August 23, 2007. Credit: Wes Higgins. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
The Moon's south pole is near the top of this sharp telescopic view looking across the southern lunar highlands. Recorded on August 3rd from Tecumseh, Oklahoma, planet Earth, the foreshortened perspective heightens the impression of a dense field of craters and makes the craters themselves appear more oval shaped. The prominent crater in the foreground, Moretus, has a diameter of 114 kilometers and lies just west (left) of the Moon's central meridian. For large lunar craters, Moretus is young and features terraced inner walls and a 2.1 kilometer high, bright central peak, similar in appearance to the more northerly crater Tycho. Just to the right of Moretus is the 95 kilometer diameter crater Curtius. Curtius has older, rounded walls marked by smaller, more recent impact craters.
Image credit: Wes Higgins