One of the geologic features that makes Copernicus crater special is its extensive, high-reflectance ejecta rays that extend across nearby mare and superpose (overlap) ejecta from other craters - Copernican ejecta extends more than 500 km from the impact site! In this high-Sun image, albedo differences are enhanced and the arrows indicate several "fingers" of ejecta and the direction of ejecta emplacement (away from Copernicus, which is to the southwest). LROC NAC image M127050121L, image width is 470 m [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Check out Wilhelms' Geologic History of the Moon for more information about Copernicus crater and the lunar geologic timescale.
LROC Wide Angle Camera 400 m/pixel monochrome mosaic of Copernicus crater (93 km diameter). The arrow indicates the approximate position of the NAC image above [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Discover the Copernicus ejecta deposits for yourself in the following images!
