Montes Apenninus are a rugged mountain range on the northern part of the Moon 's near side. They are named after the Apennine Mountains in Italy . With their formation dating back about 3.9 billion years, Montes Apenninus are fairly old.
9-542: Montes Apenninus is the most prominent remnant of the outer ring of the Imbrium basin, which also includes Montes Carpatus to its south and Montes Caucasus to its north. The Montes Apenninus range forms the southeastern border of the large Mare Imbrium lunar mare and the northwestern border of the Terra Nivium highland region. It begins just to the west of the prominent crater Eratosthenes , which abuts against
18-484: Is the smaller crater Gay-Lussac , which is attached to the southern part of the range. Montes Carpatus contains a variety of volcanic landforms: lava flows, pyroclastic deposits, rilles, and others. Lavas are formed as the mantle begins to melt, so by sampling volcanic rocks of various ages from regions across the Moon, scientists can reconstruct the range of compositions and processes over time. The Montes Carpatus formed as
27-558: The formation has an overall diameter of 361 km (224 mi). They were named by astronomer Johann Heinrich von Mädler after the Carpathian Mountains in Central Europe . This rugged range generally stretches from west to east. Its western end starts near the crater T. Mayer , with a few low ridges curving northwards towards Euler crater . At the eastern extreme, there is a wide gap where Mare Imbrium in
36-528: The last three J-Series missions that included the lunar rover and 3-day stays. Apollo 15 explored smaller peak Mons Hadley Delta (δ) and Rima Hadley rille . This was considered the most geologically diverse landing site of the program. Montes Apenninus forms a sharp, rugged rise at the edge of the Mare Imbrium. The total length of the range is about 600 km (370 mi), with some of the peaks rising as high as 5 km (3.1 mi). The entire area to
45-486: The north meets Mare Insularum to the south. East of this gap, the Montes Apenninus , forming another mountainous range that curves towards the northeast. Most of this range consists of a series of peaks and rises, separated by valleys that have been penetrated by lava flows. None of the peaks have received individual names, unless one includes Mons Vinogradov to the west of the crater Euler. The surface to
54-474: The north of the range is nearly level lunar mare , broken only by the occasional wrinkle ridge or minor impact crater. The region south of the range is somewhat rougher, although still covered by lava flows. About 100 kilometers south of the mountains is the well-known ray crater Copernicus , and the irregular outer ramparts of this crater stretch almost to the foothills of the Carpatus range. Also of note
63-642: The southeast of Montes Apenninus - its backslopes - is shaped by ejecta deposited during the violent uplift of the mountains. Sections of the Montes Apenninus front are also rubbly, a result of both fallback ejecta and landslides from the newly formed peaks. Montes Carpatus Montes Carpatus is a mountain range that forms the southern edge of the Mare Imbrium on the Moon . The selenographic coordinates of this range are 14.5° N, 24.4° W, and
72-474: The southern face of the range. To the west of these mountains is a narrow gap where Mare Imbrium in the north joins Mare Insularum to the south. Further to the west are the Montes Carpatus mountains. From Eratosthenes, the mountains form an arcing chain that gradually bends from east to northeast, ending at Promontorium Fresnel at about latitude 29.5° N. Here is another gap where the Mare Imbrium to
81-651: The west joins the Mare Serenitatis to the east. At the north end of this gap lie the Montes Caucasus. This range contains several mountains that have received names, listed below ranging from west to northeast: The last two peaks form the valley where the Apollo 15 mission made its landing. This landing was considered one of the most scientifically successful missions of the Apollo program and started
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