Layers of Imbrium excavated by Caroline Herschel Crater

Exposed mare basalt layering in the wall of Caroline Herschel crater (34.48°N, 328.71°E). LROC Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) observation M175475137R, spacecraft orbit 10994, November 9, 2011; field of view 350 meters at 45 cm per pixel resolution; angle of incidence 55.93° from 30.15 km [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Sarah Braden
LROC News System

Outcrops of layered mare basalt are visible in the interior wall of Caroline Herschel crater (located at 34.48°N, 328.71°E, in western Mare Imbrium).

The mare basalt layers were exposed during the excavation phase of the impact which created this 13.7 km diameter crater. Some debris from the crater rim and the wall have fallen over the layers but the structure of the outcrop is still preserved.

The crater is superposed on a north-south trending wrinkle ridge which is visible in the LROC WAC context image below. This crater is named after Caroline Herschel, an astronomer and half of the sister/brother science team with astronomer Sir William Herschel.

Wider angle view of the northwestern rim, wall and interior of C. Herschel. LROC NAC M1106123678L, orbit 15305, October 29,  2012; resolution 1.5 meters per pixel, angle of incidence 53.18° from 150.4 km [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Caroline discovered several comets, and in 1828 the Royal Astronomical Society awarded her their Gold Medal for her work. She made observations, kept detailed records, performed complex mathematical calculations, and polished her own telescope mirrors. Caroline has multiple comets named after her as well as the lovely lunar crater in today's Featured Image.

LROC Wide Angle Camera (WAC) context for Caroline Hershel. The white asterisk marks the area of basalt layering in the Featured Image. Field of view is 48 kilometers [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Explore the entire NAC frame to see the beauty of the Moon, HERE.

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