The area on either side of the crater Metius (90km diameter) seen near center in this image, is complex and fascinating. To the right is the obvious Vallis Rheita, formed when ejecta from the Mare Nectaris impact created a line of over a dozen craters. The crater Rheita (71km) itself can be seen at the top of this line in the image with it’s little central peak. Some lunar researchers see Vallis Rheita as two separate but overlapping troughs as evidenced by the bend in the middle with the farther portion coming from the impact of Nectaris that it points back to, while the western portion (nearer the terminator) points south of the Mare on a line with Fracastorius and Theophilus. Before we move on, notice the odd crater to the right of Rheita, Rheita E, obviously formed from 4 or 5 craters being merged. To the immediate left of Metius is a slightly smaller crater Fabricius (80km) known for … Continue reading →