Atlas & the Atlas Crater - Vienna, Austria
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 48° 12.385 E 016° 22.030
33U E 601576 N 5340146
The Austrian National Library building has a set of three friezes...and one of them features Atlas.
Waymark Code: WMM677
Location: Wien, Austria
Date Posted: 07/28/2014
Views: 11
On the left side of the Austrian National Library building, Atlas struggles with the Earth on his back as two female figures in classical garments casually observe him from either side.
In the center, there is a quadriga (or four horse chariot). Wikipedia's page for the Hofburg Palace (
visit link) informs us:
"The exterior decoration with Attika figures was executed by Lorenzo Mattielli in 1726. He placed a statue of Pallas Athene riding on a quadriga above the main entrance. On the left portion of the roof, he situated Atlas, supporting the celestial globe, flanked by Astronomy and Astrology, and on the opposite side, Gaia with the terrestrial globe, flanked by allegories of Geometry and Geography."
As for the crater, Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"Atlas is a prominent lunar impact crater that is located in the northeast part of the Moon, to the southeast of Mare Frigoris. Just to the west is the slightly smaller but still prominent crater Hercules. Northeast of Atlas is the large Endymion.
The inner wall of Atlas is multiply terraced and the edge slumped, forming a sharp-edged lip. This is a floor-fractured crater with a rough and hilly interior that has a lighter albedo than the surroundings. Floor-fractures are usually created as a result of volcanic modifications.
There are two dark patches along the inner edge of the walls; one along the north edge and another besides the southeast edges. A system of slender clefts named the Rimae Atlas crosses the crater floor, and were created by volcanism. Along the north and northeastern inner sides are a handful of dark-halo craters, most likely due to eruptions. Around the midpoint is a cluster of low central hills arranged in a circular formation."