Daedalus is a prominent
crater located near the center of the
far side of the Moon
The far side of the Moon is the hemisphere of the Moon that is facing away from Earth, the opposite hemisphere is the near side. It always has the same surface oriented away from Earth because of synchronous rotation in the Moon's orbit. C ...
. The inner wall is
terrace
Terrace may refer to:
Landforms and construction
* Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river
* Terrace, a street suffix
* Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...
d, and there is a cluster of central peaks on the relatively flat floor. Because of its location (shielded from radio emissions from the
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
), it has been proposed as the site of a future giant
radio telescope
A radio telescope is a specialized antenna (radio), antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the r ...
, which would be scooped out of the crater itself, much like the
Arecibo radio telescope, but on a vastly larger scale.
The crater is named after
Daedalus
In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin language, Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan language, Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. H ...
of
Greek myth
Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancien ...
. It is pictured in famous photographs taken by the
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...
astronauts. In contemporary sources it was called ''Crater 308'' (this was a temporary
IAU
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
designation that preceded the establishment of far-side lunar nomenclature).
Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A)
/ref>
Nearby craters of note include Icarus
In Greek mythology, Icarus (; , ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of King Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, Minos suspected that Icarus and Daedalu ...
to the east and Racah to the south. Less than a crater diameter to the north-northeast is Lipskiy.
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Daedalus.
See also
* 1864 Daedalus, near-Earth asteroid
* Lunar Crater Radio Telescope - proposed radio telescope by NIAC for the far side of the moon
References
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External links
Lunar Orbiter photographic atlas, Photo Number II-033-M
{{Craters on the Moon: C-F
Impact craters on the Moon