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Overview of the center of the moon, from left to right:
Montes Apenninus
(Mons Huygens, Mons Ampère, Mons Wolff), Eratosthenes, Copernicus.
(Freely adapted from Wikipedia)
Montes Apenninus are a rugged mountain range on the northern part of the Moon's near side. They are named after the Apennine Mountains in Italy.
This range forms the southeastern border of the large Mare Imbrium lunar mare and the northwestern border of the Terra Nivium highland region. It begins just to the west of the prominent crater Eratosthenes, which abuts against the southern face of the range.
From Eratosthenes, the mountains form an arcing chain that gradually bends from east to northeast. Much of this range forms a sharp, rugged rise at the edge of the Mare Imbrium, with a wide expanse of foothills on the far (southeastern) face. The total length of the range is about 600 km (370 mi), with some of the peaks rising as high as 5 km (3.1 mi).
Mons Huygens is the Moon's tallest mountain (but not its highest point). It is about 5.5 km high and is located in the Montes Apenninus. The Montes Apenninus were formed by the impact that created Mare Imbrium.
Eratosthenes is a relatively deep lunar impact crater (diam. 58 Km, depth 3.6 Km) that lies on the boundary between the Mare Imbrium and Sinus Aestuum mare regions. It forms the western terminus of the Montes Apenninus mountain range. The crater has a well-defined circular rim, terraced inner wall, central mountain peaks, an irregular floor, and an outer rampart of ejecta. It lacks a ray system of its own, but is overlain by rays from the prominent crater Copernicus to the south-west. At low Sun-angles this crater is prominent due to the shadow cast by the rim. When the Sun is directly overhead, however, Eratosthenes visually blends into the surroundings, and it becomes more difficult for an observer to locate it. The rays from Copernicus lie across this area, and their higher albedo serves as a form of camouflage.
Copernicus is a lunar impact crater (diam. 93 Km, depth 3.8 Km) named after the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, located in eastern Oceanus Procellarum. It typifies craters that formed during the Copernican period in that it has a prominent ray system.
Copernicus is visible using binoculars, and is located slightly northwest of the center of the Moon's Earth-facing hemisphere. South of the crater is the Mare Insularum. North of Copernicus are the Montes Carpatus, which lie at the south edge of Mare Imbrium. West of Copernicus is a group of dispersed lunar hills. Due to its relative youth, the crater has remained in a relatively pristine shape since it formed.
The circular rim has a discernible hexagonal form, with a terraced inner wall and a 30 km wide, sloping rampart that descends nearly a kilometer to the surrounding mare. There are three distinct terraces visible, and arc-shaped landslides due to slumping of the inner wall as the crater debris subsided.
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