Hill 305 is a feature on Earth's

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, a mountain in the Hadley–Apennine region. Astronauts David Scott and James Irwin landed the

Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed ...

''Falcon'' about 21 km southeast of it in 1971, on the

Apollo 15 Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the United States' Apollo program and the fourth to Moon landing, land on the Moon. It was the first List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types, J mission, with a ...

mission, but they did not visit it. They could see it on the northwestern horizon from nearly everywhere they went. The peak rises approximately 1300 meters above the surrounding plain, known as

Palus Putredinis Palus Putredinis (Latin ''palūs pūtrēdinis'' "Marsh of Decay") is a small lunar mare in the basin of Mare Imbrium. It stretches from the crater Archimedes southeast toward the rugged Montes Apenninus range located on the southeastern edge of ...

, and part of Hadley Rille curves along its southern margin. The astronauts named the feature, although it is somewhat unclear why. David Scott stated that it was probably "305 meters above something, because that's the normal way the Army designates a hill." But Eric Jones states "a more likely explanation is that the name refers to the azimuth of the summit as seen from the landing site which is, indeed, about 305 degrees (east of north)." The name is informal and not recognized by the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach ...

, but the name is used in the scientific literature, such as the ''Apollo 15 Preliminary Science Report''.Apollo 15 Preliminary Science Report
(NASA SP-289), 1972.

External links

LTO-41B4 Hadley
Lunar Topographic Orthophotomap 41B4

References

{{reflist Mountains on the Moon

See also

External links

References