Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Slumping Rim of the Moon's Darwin C Crater


High incidence angle (83°) accentuates the slumping rim of Darwin C. The parallel fractures along the crater rim are slump blocks pulling away from the rim toward the interior of the crater, which is in shadow (lower right). LROC NAC M148624404R, image is 720 meters across.

Darwin C (20.5°S, 288.9°E) is one of several satellite craters associated with the crater Darwin. Compared to its sister satellite craters, this one is less degraded. However, the rim of Darwin C provides an excellent example of post-impact modification of a crater rim.

Photo credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

Note: For more information, see Slumping Rim of Darwin C.