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Deslandres_220514_021220-UT

 

(Freely adapted from Wikipedia)  


Deslandres is the heavily worn and distorted remains of a lunar impact crater (dia. 256 Km). It is located to the southeast of the Mare Nubium, in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. In dimension it is the second-largest crater formation on the visible Moon, being beaten only by the 303-kilometer-diameter walled plain Bailly. The northern and eastern parts of the floor display a relatively level surface, but it is pock-marked with numerous craters. There is a small region of mare material, due to basaltic lava, along the eastern interior floor. The crater Hell lies entirely within the western rim.

 

The satellite crater Hell Q lies at the center of a patch of higher albedo surface located in the eastern half of Deslandres. Around the time of the full moon this feature is one of the brightest spots on the lunar surface. The light hue indicates a relatively youthful feature in lunar geological terms. This patch is sometimes referred to as "Cassini's bright spot", as it was first mapped by Cassini in 1672 at the Paris Observatory.




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