Rheita (crater)

Rheita
LRO mosaic
Coordinates37°06′S 47°12′E / 37.1°S 47.2°E / -37.1; 47.2
Diameter70 km
Depth4.3 km
Colongitude314° at sunrise
EponymAnton M. S. of Rheita
Lunar Orbiter 4 image

Rheita is a lunar impact crater located in the southwestern sector of the Moon. It was named after Czech astronomer and optician Anton Maria Schyrleus of Rheita.[1] It lies to the northeast of the crater Metius, and northwest of Young. The southwestern rim overlies the edge of Vallis Rheita, a long lunar valley stretching for over 200 kilometers on a line running northeast to southwest. At its widest the valley is 25 kilometers wide and a kilometer deep.

The rim of Rheita remains well-defined with a sharp lip and a terraced inner wall. The rim overlaps a slightly smaller crater to the east, and has a pair of small impact craters in the northern wall. The crater floor is flat and it has a central peak.

Rheita is a crater of Nectarian age.[2]

  1. ^ "Rheita (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ^ The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. By Don E. Wilhelms, John F. McCauley, and Newell J. Trask. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington: 1987. Table 9-4.