We all know Tycho crater on the moon but you've never seen the central peak in such amazing detail. Check out the ASU LROC site to see the photo at right in perspective.
"Arizona State University researchers have released a stunning image of the Moon’s prominent impact crater Tycho, taken with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) on 10 June 2011. This dramatic sunrise view of Tycho crater captured by Professor Mark Robinson’s LROC team with the narrow angle camera could be considered one of the most beautiful images of the Moon taken to date."
"The relatively young Tycho is the most conspicuous crater visible when the Moon is full. It is a very popular target with amateur astronomers because it is surrounded by a distinctive dark halo and radiating bright rays. Located in the southern lunar highlands at 43.37°S, 348.68°E, the approximately 82-kilometer (51 miles) wide Tycho crater fits the mold of a typical large complex impact crater with its flat floor, terraced inner-rim walls and prominent central peak. The summit of the central peak is 2 km (6562 ft) above the crater floor, and the crater floor is about 4700 m (15,420 ft) below the rim. Many "clasts" ranging in size from 10 meters to 100s of meters are exposed in the central peak slopes."
[excerpted from the ASU news release and LROC description]
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