Vitello is a

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

impact crater An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact crater ...

that lies along the southern edge of the small

Mare Humorum Mare Humorum (Latin ''hūmōrum'', the "Sea of Moisture") is a lunar mare. The impact basin it is located in is 425 kilometers across. Geology It was not sampled by the Apollo program, so a precise age has not been determined. However, geologi ...

, in the southwest part of the

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 ...

's near side. It was named after 13th century Polish theologian and physicist

Vitello Vitello ( pl, Witelon; german: Witelo; – 1280/1314) was a friar, theologian, natural philosopher and an important figure in the history of philosophy in Poland. Name Vitello's name varies with some sources. In earlier publications he was quo ...

. It lies just to the east of the

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

-flooded crater Lee. To the northeast along the edge of the

lunar mare The lunar maria (; singular: mare ) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient asteroid impacts on the far side on the Moon that triggered volcanic activity on the opposite (near) side. They were dubbed , Latin for 'seas' ...

is the Rupes Kelvin, an irregular fault line.

Description

This crater has a low, roughly circular rim with a sharp edge. The interior floor is irregular, rugged and hilly, with a ring of deep fractures surrounding the central peak. A low ridge projects out from the northwest rim into the mare. Vitello was once believed to be a

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

rather than an impact crater. In ''To A Rocky Moon'', lunar geologist Don E. Wilhelms summarized: It "is a Saari-Shorthill

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

hotspot, is fractured, and is blanketed and surrounded by a dark deposit. If there is a caldera on the moon, this ought to be it." However,

Lunar Orbiter 5 Lunar Orbiter 5, the last of the " Lunar Orbiter series", was designed to take additional Apollo and Surveyor landing site photography and to take broad survey images of unphotographed parts of the Moon's far side. It was also equipped to collec ...

acquired high-resolution images of the interior and geologists noted that the fractures were filled with boulders which caused the infrared anomaly, and so volcanic heat was not escaping from Vitello. Wilhelms concluded "...if it is a caldera, its activity expired long ago."To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's History of Lunar Exploration. Don E. Wilhelms, University of Arizona Press (1993).

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Vitello.

References

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External links

Lunar Orbiter 5 images of Vitello
including high-resolution frames of interior * Includes high-resolution view of the interior of Vitello *{{cite web , title=Pattern of dark deposits , work=Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter , publisher=NASA , date=1 September 2011 , url=http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/posts/396 Includes high-resolution view of the interior of Vitello Impact craters on the Moon