Explore the Universe - Plato

We had a beautiful clear sky on May 5, 2017 that allowed for the opportunity to get a good view of the Moon.  I was able to record three of the twelve listed craters on the Explore the Universe certificate.  The first one I took a look at was Plato.  The crater is named after the Greek philosopher and father of western science.

Plato is an extremely old crater (as indicated by its lava filled interior) at an estimated 3.84 billion years old.  It sits just above the Sea of Rains (Mare Imbrium) which is only slightly older at 3.94 billion years.  To its East are the Montes Alpes (The Alps), a beautiful mountain range forming the northeastern border of Mare Imbrium.  It is a fairly large crater extending  101km in diameter.  The western rim consists of a landslide.  There are a few small craters located on the floor of Plato which show up as tiny light patches in the images below if you look carefully.

A close up image is shown below.  A smaller (20km) prominent crater is shown to its northwest with the name Bliss.

Plato

It was amazing to view the Alps to the East of Plato.  The Vallis Alpes is clearly visible between Mare Imbrium and Mare Frigoris.  The valley stretches early 170km through the famous lunar mountain range.  I'm sure if the weather was reasonable it would make a great several day hike.  The image below shows the region around Plato with the valley extending across the right side.

Plato Wide Field

Also shown in the images above is the mountain range known as Montes Teneriffe.  They extend for about 110km and rise more than 2km from the surface.  The name comes from the largest of the Canary Islands: Ternerife.  The mountain range points towards Mons Pico, a beautiful solitary peak named after the highest point of the Atlantic Islands: Pico von Teneriffe.

Just to the West of Montes Tereriffe is Montes Recti (Straight Range) that is barely poking out in the wide field image above.

The features on the Moon can be elusive month to month.  However, they can also put on an amazing show when the weather behaves.  I find it fascinating to imagine these features on the Earth and what it would look like up close.