Bowditch (25.0°S, 103.1°E) is an irregularly-shaped depression NW of Lacus Solitudinis. Inside Bowditch is a "ring" that resembles a dirty bathtub. Much like water in a bathtub, this ring is a marker of the highest level of liquid lava within Bowditch. The Bowditch depression filled with lava like many craters on the Moon, and as the lava cooled and solidified, it subsided into the center of the depression. The ring is the remnant from this activity. NAC images give us further evidence of lava cooling, contraction, and subsidence in the mare. We do not know if drainage or contraction during cooling causes lava terraces like Bowditch, but these new images should provide us with more clues. Check out Apollo era images of the Bowditch feature at the Apollo Image of the Week site.
View the full LROC NAC frame!
Published by Sarah Braden on 2 November 2010