Montes Taurus is a rugged, jumbled mountainous region on the Moon . It is located to the east of the Mare Serenitatis , in the northeastern quadrant of the Moon's near side. Coordinates of their center are 27°19′N 40°20′E / 27.32°N 40.34°E / 27.32; 40.34 ( Montes Taurus ) , and their extent is about 170 km.
24-401: Montes Taurus are rather unimpressive and indistinct compared to other named lunar mountain systems . It is a broad hilly region without sharp borders. These mountains reach maximal height between craters Kirchhoff and Newcomb (4.9 km above Mare Serenitatis and 2.1 km above mean level of lunar surface). A number of craters lie embedded within this range. At the southwestern edge of
48-405: A discernible hexagonal form, with a terraced inner wall and a 30 km wide, sloping rampart that descends nearly a kilometer to the surrounding mare . There are three distinct terraces visible, and arc-shaped landslides due to slumping of the inner wall as the crater debris subsided. Most likely due to its recent formation, the crater floor has not been flooded by lava . The terrain along
72-459: Is a lunar impact crater located in eastern Oceanus Procellarum . It was named after the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus . It typifies craters that formed during the Copernican period in that it has a prominent ray system . It may have been created by debris from the breakup of the parent body of asteroid 495 Eulalia 800 million years ago. Copernicus is visible using binoculars , and
96-631: Is located slightly northwest of the center of the Moon's Earth-facing hemisphere. South of the crater is the Mare Insularum , and to the south-south west is the crater Reinhold . North of Copernicus are the Montes Carpatus , which lie at the south edge of Mare Imbrium . West of Copernicus is a group of dispersed lunar hills. Due to its relative youth, the crater has remained in a relatively pristine shape since it formed. The circular rim has
120-461: Is not comprehensive, as surveying of the Moon is a work in progress. Heights are in meters; most peaks have not been surveyed with the precision of a single meter. Mountains on the Moon have heights and elevations / altitudes defined relative to various vertical datums (referring to the lunoid ), each in turn defined relative to the center of mass (CoM) of the Moon. c. 1960 —
144-702: The Ocean of Storms . However, astronomical historian Ewan Whitaker suspects that the prominence of Copernicus crater is a sign that Riccioli secretly supported the heliocentric system and was ensuring that Nicolaus Copernicus would receive a worthy legacy for future generations. Earlier lunar cartographers had given the feature different names. Pierre Gassendi named it Carthusia after the Chartreuse Mountains . Michael van Langren 's 1645 map calls it "Phillipi IV" after Philip IV of Spain . And Johannes Hevelius named it 'Etna M.' after Mount Etna . Later
168-485: The U.S. Army Mapping Service datum was established 1,737,988 meters from the CoM. c. 1970 — the U.S. Defense Mapping Agency used 1,730,000 meters. c. 1990 — The Clementine topographic data use 1,737,400 meters as the baseline, and show a range of about 18,100 meters from lowest to highest point on the Moon. This is not a list of the highest places on the Moon, meaning those farthest from
192-585: The U.S. Geological Survey described the crater as having, ...a hummocky crater rim, numerous large slump blocks on the crater wall, and a complex of central peaks. Sets of parallel fractures , aligned with the lunar structure grid, formed after the crater wall took its present form, but before the smoothest floor materials were emplaced. The smooth floor materials show a swirling pattern of cracks like those seen on terrestrial lava flows. These materials are associated with numerous hills that have summit craters and are probably small volcanoes . Several low places on
216-473: The CoM. Rather, it is a list of peaks at various heights relative to the relevant datum. This is because the Moon has mass asymmetries: the highest point , located on the far side of the Moon, is approximately 6,500 meters higher than Mons Huygens (usually listed as the tallest mountain). Gallery [ edit ] [REDACTED] the central peaks of the crater Copernicus consist of three isolated mountainous rises climbing as high as 1200 m above
240-667: The Moon v t e Moon Outline Physical properties Internal structure Topography Atmosphere Gravity field Hill sphere Magnetic field Sodium tail Moonlight Earthshine [REDACTED] Orbit Lunar distance Orbital elements Distance Perigee and apogee Libration Nodes Nodal period Precession Syzygy New moon Full moon Eclipses Lunar eclipse Total penumbral lunar eclipse Tetrad Solar eclipse Solar eclipses on
264-531: The Moon [REDACTED] Category Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_mountains_on_the_Moon&oldid=1256991558 " Categories : Lists of extraterrestrial mountains Lists of mountains Mountains on the Moon Moon-related lists Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Copernicus (lunar crater) Copernicus
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336-421: The Moon's near side, it was given its name by Giovanni Riccioli , whose 1651 nomenclature system has become standardized. Riccioli awarded Copernicus a prominent crater despite the fact that, as an Italian Jesuit , he conformed with church doctrine in publicly opposing Copernicus's heliocentric system. Riccioli justified the name by noting that he had symbolically thrown all the heliocentrist astronomers into
360-484: The bottom is hilly in the southern half while the north is relatively smooth. The central peaks consist of three isolated mountainous rises climbing as high as 1.2 km above the floor. These peaks are separated from each other by valleys, and they form a rough line along an east–west axis. Infrared observations of these peaks during the 1980s determined that olivine was the main mafic mineral. Based on high-resolution images from Lunar Orbiter 5 , Terry W. Offield of
384-896: The crater floor [REDACTED] crater Gassendi with central peaks See also [ edit ] [REDACTED] Solar System portal List of mountain ranges List of features on the Moon Boot Hill Duke Island List of craters on the Moon List of maria on the Moon List of valleys on the Moon List of tallest mountains in the Solar System Notes [ edit ] References [ edit ] External links [ edit ] List of named lunar mountains in Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature Digital Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of
408-476: The crater was nicknamed "the Monarch of the Moon" by lunar cartographer Thomas Gwyn Elger . By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Copernicus. Copernicus H, a typical "dark-halo" crater, was a target of observation by Lunar Orbiter 5 in 1967. Dark-halo craters were once believed to be volcanic in origin rather than
432-412: The crater's rays, and scientists hoped cosmic ray exposure ages of soil samples would help constrain the crater age. The results were inconclusive, but not inconsistent with the estimated 800 million year age of crater formation. Copernicus itself was a possible landing site for the canceled Apollo 20 mission. Copernicus is named after the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus . Like many of the craters on
456-485: The form Mons Taurus ) to a completely different feature — one of bright rays of crater Tycho . The item of this article was designated as Taurica Chersonnesus , because Hevelius tried to establish a correspondence between lunar regions and regions of vicinity of Mediterranean sea, and on his map this lunar region corresponded to Crimea (historically known as Tauris or Tauric Chersonese ). Later lunar cartographers began to call it Montes Taurus , and in 1935 this name
480-450: The rays lie at glancing angles, instead of forming a true radial dispersal. An extensive pattern of smaller secondary craters can also be observed surrounding Copernicus, a detail that was depicted in a map by Giovanni Cassini in 1680. Some of these secondary craters form sinuous chains in the ejecta. In 1966 the crater was photographed from an oblique angle by Lunar Orbiter 2 as one of 12 "housekeeping" pictures that were taken to advance
504-632: The region is the crater Römer , and Newcomb is located in the northeastern section. Several satellite craters also lie throughout the Montes Taurus. The southwestern edge of this region hosts Taurus–Littrow valley, the landing site of the crewed Apollo 17 mission. The Montes Taurus are named after the Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey . This name appeared on the lunar map due to Johannes Hevelius , who used to name lunar features after terrestrial ones. But he assigned this name (in
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#1732801724018528-417: The rim and wall are partly filled by what appears to be ponded volcanic material, or possibly fluidized impact debris. The crater rays spread as far as 800 kilometers across the surrounding mare , overlying rays from the craters Aristarchus and Kepler . The rays are less distinct than the long, linear rays extending from Tycho , instead forming a nebulous pattern with plumy markings. In multiple locations
552-468: The roll of film between possible astronaut landing sites being surveyed. At the time this detailed image of the lunar surface was termed by NASA scientist Martin Swetnick and subsequently quoted by Time magazine as "one of the great pictures of the century." The Apollo 12 mission landed south of Copernicus on mare basalts of Oceanus Procellarum that were believed to have been in the path of one of
576-566: Was adopted by International Astronomical Union . This article related to the Moon is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . List of mountains on the Moon From Misplaced Pages, the 💕 Lunar peaks This is a list of mountains on the Moon (with a scope including all named mons and montes , planetary science jargon terms roughly equivalent to 'isolated mountain'/' massif ' and 'mountain range'). Caveats [ edit ] This list
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