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(Freely adapted from Wikipedia)
Aristarchus, is a prominent lunar impact crater (dia. 40 Km, dep. 3.7 Km) 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 earthshine.Aristarchus is located on an elevated rocky rise, known as the Aristarchus plateau, in the midst of the Oceanus Procellarum, a large expanse of lunar mare.
Aristarchus is bright because it is a young formation, and the solar wind has not yet had time to darken the excavated material by the process of space weathering. The region of the Aristarchus plateau has been the site of many reported transient lunar phenomena.
Herodotus is a lunar crater (dia. 35 Km, dep. 1.5 Km) located on a low shelf in the midst of the Oceanus Procellarum. To the east is the slightly larger crater Aristarchus. Almost due south on the mare surface is a solitary lunar dome designated Herodotus Omega (ω).
The crater Herodotus has a slightly irregular, narrow rim that appears somewhat oblong due to foreshortening. The inner floor has been flooded with lava, and has a lower albedo than its brighter and more prominent neighbor Aristarchus. To the north of Herodotus is the start of the VallisSchröteri, a valley that has a length of 160 kilometers and a maximum depth of nearly a kilometer. It begins at a small crater 25 km north of the rim, then winds across the surface to the north, before turning northwest and finally to the southwest before coming to a precipitous end at the edge of the raised shelf on which Herodotus is located. The valley is wider at its crater head than elsewhere, which has given it the nickname of the "Cobra Head".
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