Ariadaeus is a small, bowl-shaped
lunar 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 ...
on the western shores of
Mare Tranquillitatis
Mare Tranquillitatis ( Latin ''tranquillitātis'', the Sea of Tranquillity or Sea of Tranquility; see spelling differences) is a lunar mare that sits within the Tranquillitatis basin on the Moon. It is the first location on another world to ...
. It lies to the north of the crater
Dionysius
The name Dionysius (; el, Διονύσιος ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; la, Dionysius) was common in classical and post-classical times. Etymologically it is a nominalized adjective formed with a -ios suffix from the stem Dionys- of the name ...
, and to the west-southwest of
Arago. The crater is joined along the northeast rim by the slightly smaller Ariadaeus A, and the two form a double-crater. Its diameter is 10.4 km.
This crater marks the eastern extent of the
rille
Rille (German for 'groove') is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the surface of the Moon that resemble channels. The Latin term is ''rima'', plural ''rimae''. Typically, a rille can be several kilometers wi ...
designated
Rima Ariadaeus
Rima Ariadaeus is a linear rille on the Moon at . It is named after the crater Ariadaeus, which marks its eastern end. It is over 300 km long and is categorized as a straight rille because of its linear nature.
Formation
Some scientists ...
. This wide rille extends in a nearly straight line to the west-northwest, passing just to the north of the crater
Silberschlag. Other rille systems lie in the vicinity, including the Rimae Ritter to the southeast and Rimae Sosigenes to the northeast.
The crater was named after
Philip III of Macedon
Philip III Arrhidaeus ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος Ἀρριδαῖος ; c. 359 BC – 25 December 317 BC) reigned as king of Macedonia an Ancient Greek Kingdom in northern Greece from after 11 June 323 BC until his death. He was a son of King Ph ...
(Arrhidaeus).
[Antonín Rükl, ''Atlas of the Moon'' (Hamlyn, 1991), p. 96.]
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 Ariadaeus.
Notes
References
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External links
Lunar Orbiter 2 frame 59 showing Ariadaeus B in high resolution
{{Craters on the Moon: A–B
Impact craters on the Moon