Apianus is a lunarimpact crater that is located on the rugged south-central highlands of the Moon. It is named after 16th century German mathematician and astronomer Petrus Apianus.[1][2] It is located to the northeast of the crater Aliacensis, and to the northwest of Poisson. The worn crater Krusenstern is attached to the west-northwestern rim.
Description
The outer wall of the crater has been worn and eroded by subsequent impacts, and a pair of small craterlets overlay the rim to the southeast and northeast. The central crater is 63 kilometers in diameter and 2,080 meters deep.[1] The craterlet on the southeast rim, Apianus B, is a member of a cluster of co-joined craterlets that includes Apianus T and Apianus U. The interior floor of the central crater is relatively smooth and lacks a central peak, although the surface appears somewhat convex. Only a few tiny craterlets mark the surface.[3]
The crater is from the Nectarian period, 3.92 to 3.85 billion years ago.[1]
Satellite craters
Apianus crater and its satellite craters taken from Earth in 2012 at the University of Hertfordshire's Bayfordbury Observatory with the telescopes Meade LX200 14" and Lumenera Skynyx 2-1
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Apianus.[4]
