Plato is a lava-filled

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 craters ...

on 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 ...

. Its diameter is 101 km. It was named after ancient Greek philosopher

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

. It is located on the northeastern shore of the

Mare Imbrium Mare Imbrium (Latin ''imbrium'', the "Sea of Showers" or "Sea of Rains", "Sea of Tears") is a vast lava plain within the Imbrium Basin on the Moon and is one of the larger craters in the Solar System. The Imbrium Basin formed from the colli ...

, at the western extremity of the

Montes Alpes Montes Alpes is a mountain range in the northern part of the Moon's near side. It was named after the Alps in Europe; the name was confirmed by the International Astronomical Union in 1935. It lies between the selenographic coordinates latitudes ...

mountain range. In the mare to the south are several rises collectively named the Montes Teneriffe. To the north lies the wide stretch of the

Mare Frigoris Mare Frigoris (Latin ''frīgōris'', the "Sea of Cold") is a lunar mare in the far north of the Moon. It is located in the outer rings of the Procellarum basin, just north of Mare Imbrium, and stretches east to north of Mare Serenitatis. It is j ...

. East of the crater, among the

, are several

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 ...

s collectively named the Rimae Plato. Rimae Plato 4127 h3

The age of Plato is about 3.84 billion years, only slightly younger than the

to the south. The rim is irregular with 2-km-tall jagged peaks that project prominent shadows across the crater floor when the Sun is at a low angle. Sections of the inner wall display signs of past slumping, most notably a large triangular slide along the western side. The rim of Plato is circular, but from the Earth it appears oval due to

foreshortening Linear or point-projection perspective (from la, perspicere 'to see through') is one of two types of graphical projection perspective in the graphic arts; the other is parallel projection. Linear perspective is an approximate representation, ...

. The flat floor of Plato has a relatively low

albedo Albedo (; ) is the measure of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation out of the total solar radiation and measured on a scale from 0, corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation, to 1, corresponding to a body that refl ...

, making it appear dark in comparison to the surrounding rugged terrain. The floor is free of significant impact craters and lacks a central peak. However, there are a few small craterlets scattered across the floor. Plato has developed a reputation for transient lunar phenomena, including flashes of light, unusual colour patterns, and areas of hazy visibility. These anomalies are likely a result of seeing conditions, combined with the effects of different illumination angles of the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

Gallery

File:Imbrium map.png, Detail map of Mare Imbrium's features. Plato is the feature marked "C". File:Lunar crater Plato.png, Location of Plato from

Clementine A clementine (''Citrus × clementina'') is a tangor, a citrus fruit hybrid between a willowleaf mandarin orange ( ''C.'' × ''deliciosa'') and a sweet orange (''C. × sinensis''), named in honor of Clément Rodier, a French missionary who fir ...

images File:Moon-crater-Plato-nov10-2005.png, Plato (center) in a telescopic photograph (viewed from the earth) File:Plato Crater.jpg, Plato (viewed from the earth) File:Mare Frigoris.jpg, Photo of Mare Frigoris. Plato is the dark circular feature to the south of the mare. File:Plato (crater) Cross Section.png, Plato as taken from

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in an eccentric polar mapping orbit. Data collected by LRO have been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic missions t ...

data, inset graph shows elevations of green line, left to right. File:Aldo Ferruggia - Mare Imbrium.jpg, alt=Plato crater and Mare Imbrium, Aldo Ferruggia (GAWH), 2021/22/04, Mappano, Turin, Italy. Plato crater and closer craters. Celestron C8, ASI224MC, #12+47# filters with mineral postprocessing

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 Plato. The following craters have been renamed 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 ...

: * Plato A — ''See'' Bliss (crater). File:Plato H crater 4115 h3.jpg, Satellite crater Plato H File:Plato J crater 4115 h3.jpg, Satellite crater Plato J

Plato in fiction

The crater Plato is the location of an observatory in Arthur C. Clarke's novel ''

Earthlight ''Earthlight'' is a science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, published in 1955. It is an expansion to novel length of a novella of the same name that he had published four years earlier. Overview ''Earthlight'' is a scie ...

'' (1955), of the lunar "warren" Hong Kong Luna in

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

's novel ''

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress ''The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress'' is a 1966 science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein about a lunar colony's revolt against absentee rule from Earth. The novel illustrates and discusses libertarian ideals. It is respected for i ...

'' (1966), and of Moonbase Alpha in the science-fiction TV series '' Space: 1999''. Crater Plato is the home crater of

Matthew Looney Matthew Looney is the title character in a series of four science fiction books for children by Jerome Beatty Jr (1916—2002). Matthew's sister Maria Looney is the title character in Beatty's three subsequent books. The entire Looney series is ...

and Maria Looney, protagonists of the Looney series of children's books set on the Moon, written by Jerome Beatty.

References

* * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Plato at The Moon Wiki
* * From

LROC LRoc (born James Elbert Phillips) is an American in-house songwriter and producer at Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings. He has co-written and co-produced singles like Janet Jackson's " Call on Me", Monica's " Everytime Tha Beat Drop", M ...

:
Balcony Over Plato

Bench Crater in Plato

Scalelike Impact Melts

Lunar Orbiter Photo Number IV-127-H3

High resolution lunar overflight video
by Seán Doran, based on LRO data, that passes over Plato about two thirds of the way through (se
album
for more)

* - one of the prominent features of the photo includes Plato * * * {{APOD , date=4 December 2014 , title=Plato and the Lunar Alps Impact craters on the Moon

Gallery

Satellite craters

Plato in fiction

References

External links

Related articles