Ariadaeus (crater)

Ariadaeus
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates4°36′N 17°18′E / 4.6°N 17.3°E / 4.6; 17.3
Diameter10.4 km
Depth1.8 km
Colongitude342° at sunrise
EponymPhilippus Arrhidaeus
Oblique view from Apollo 10, with Ariadaeus in lower left and Rima Ariadaeus extending to the horizon

Ariadaeus is a small, bowl-shaped lunar impact crater on the western shores of Mare Tranquillitatis. It lies to the north of the crater Dionysius, and to the west-southwest of Arago. The crater is joined along the northeast rim by the slightly smaller Ariadaeus A, and the two form a double-crater. Its diameter is 10.4 km.[1]

Rimae Ariadaeus from Apollo 10. NASA photo.

This crater marks the eastern extent of the rille designated Rima Ariadaeus. This wide rille extends in a nearly straight line to the west-northwest, passing just to the north of the crater Silberschlag. Other rille systems lie in the vicinity, including the Rimae Ritter to the southeast and Rimae Sosigenes to the northeast.

The crater was named after Philip III of Macedon (Arrhidaeus).[1][2]

  1. ^ a b "Ariadaeus (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ^ Antonín Rükl, Atlas of the Moon (Hamlyn, 1991), p. 96.