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Credit & Copyright: Vincenzo
Mirabella
Explanation:
Rima Hyginus is a
spectacular fissure,
some 220 kilometers long,
found near the center of the
lunar near side.
Easy to spot in telescopic views of the Moon, it stretches top left to
bottom right across this
lunar
closeup.
The image was made with
exaggerated colors
that reflect the mineral composition of the lunar soil.
Hyginus crater
lies near the center of the narrow lunar surface groove.
About 10 kilometers in diameter, the low-walled crater is
a volcanic caldera, one of the
larger non-impact craters on the lunar surface.
Dotted with small pits formed by surface collapse,
Hyginus rima itself was likely created by stresses due to internal
magma upwelling
and collapse along a long surface fault.
The intriguing region was a candidate
landing site for the canceled Apollo 19 mission.
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Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Moon
Publications with words: Moon
See also: