Stadius is a ghostly remnant of an ancient lunarimpact crater that has been nearly obliterated by basalticlava flows. It was named after Flemish astronomer Johannes Stadius.[1] It lies to the southwest of the much younger crater Eratosthenes, at the north edge of Mare Insularum where the mare joins Sinus Aestuum. To the west is the prominent ray crater Copernicus, and multiple secondary craters from the Copernican ejecta cover this area. To the northwest is a chain of craters that continue in a roughly linear formation until reaching Mare Imbrium.
Location map of Stadius in the Nearside of the Moon
Only the northwestern rim of Stadius remains nearly intact, and it joins with a north-running ridge line that reaches the western rampart of Eratosthenes. The remainder of the formation forms a ghostly trace of the original rim, created from a few rises in the surface, and there is no indication of a central peak. The flat crater floor is pock-marked by craterlets, many of which were generated by secondary impacts from the creation of Copernicus.[2]
Satellite craters
Secondary crater field of Stadius (LRO image from January 2010)
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Stadius.
Stadius
Latitude
Longitude
Diameter
A
10.4° N
14.8° W
5 km
B
11.8° N
13.6° W
6 km
C
9.7° N
12.8° W
3 km
D
10.3° N
15.3° W
4 km
E
12.6° N
15.6° W
5 km
F
13.0° N
15.7° W
5 km
G
11.2° N
14.8° W
5 km
H
11.6° N
13.9° W
4 km
J
13.8° N
16.1° W
4 km
K
9.7° N
13.6° W
4 km
L
10.1° N
12.9° W
3 km
M
14.7° N
16.5° W
7 km
N
9.4° N
15.7° W
5 km
P
11.8° N
15.2° W
6 km
Q
11.5° N
14.8° W
4 km
R
12.2° N
15.2° W
6 km
S
12.9° N
15.5° W
5 km
T
13.2° N
15.7° W
7 km
U
13.9° N
16.4° W
5 km
W
14.1° N
16.4° W
5 km
Popular culture
Within the Sega CDRPGLunar: The Silver Star (and all subsequent remakes) there is a region called the Stadius Zone, which is named after the Stadius crater.
References
^"Stadius (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
^Wood, Chuck (October 26, 2007). "Before and After". Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID122125855.
Wood, Chuck (September 28, 2004). "Unknown Luna 19". Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2017-10-06. - featuring three released photos from Luna 19 from 1971 - it includes Stadius in the third one
Wood, Chuck (March 24, 2005). "Floods and Buckshot". Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on 2012-08-28. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
Wood, Chuck (January 26, 2007). "Before and After". Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011.
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