Sizzling hot image of the week: Lunar crater Arzachel

Posted by David Eicher
on Thursday, October 13, 2011

Consider the lunar crater Arzachel. Located in the southern half of the Moon, in our satellite’s cratered highlands, it is one of the most prominent impact craters. It stretches an impressive 60 miles (97 kilometers) across, has several terraced clefts on its floor, and hosts an impressive winding rille called Rima Arzachel. Its prominent central peak left from the crater’s impact is some 10 miles (16km) long.

John Chumack
John Chumack’s image of Arzachel shows all the crater’s major features beautifully. He took it from his backyard in Dayton, Ohio, on October 5, 2011, using a 10-inch SCT, DMK 31AF04 FireWire CCD camera, a 2x Barlow lens, and 504 frames stacked in Registax.

The prominent crater above and left of Arzachel (with a huge central peak) is Alpetragius; the prominent crater at lower left is Thebit.

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