Aristarchus is a prominent lunar impact crater that lies in the northwest part of the Moon's near side. It is considered the brightest of the large formations on the lunar surface, with an albedo nearly double that of most lunar features. The feature is bright enough to be visible to the naked eye, and is dazzling in a large telescope. It is also readily identified when most of the lunar surface is illuminated by earth-shine.
The Aristarchus crater is located on an elevated rocky plateau, known as the Aristarchus plateau, in the midst of the Oceanus Procellarum lava plain. It is just to ...
Aristarchus is noted for possible lunar transient phenomena (TLP), and there are indications of volcanic activity, including volcanic domes and rilles. William Herschel mistook the crater for an erupting volcano, an error most likely due to the brightness of the structure.
In 1971 when Apollo 15 passed 110 kilometers above this crater, a significant rise in alpha particles was detected. These particles are believed to be emitted by the decay o ...
In 1911, Professor Robert W. Wood used ultraviolet photography to take images of the crater area. He discovered the plateau had an anomalous appearance in the ultraviolet, and an area to the north appeared to give indications of a sulfur deposit. This colorful area is sometimes referred to as "Wood's Spot", an alternate name for the Aristarchus Plateau.
Spectra taken of this crater during the Clementine mission was used to perform mineral mapping. The data indicated that the central peak is a type of rock called anorthosite, which is ...
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Aristarchus crater.
The following craters have been renamed by the IAU.
Aristarchus A — See Väisälä crater.
Aristarchus C — See Toscanelli crater.
...
