Cardanus (crater)
|
Lunar Orbiter 4 image | |
| Coordinates | 13°12′N 72°24′W / 13.2°N 72.4°WCoordinates: 13°12′N 72°24′W / 13.2°N 72.4°W |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 50 km |
| Depth | 1.3 km |
| Colongitude | 72° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Gerolamo Cardano |
Cardanus is a lunar impact crater that is located in the western part of the Moon, in the western part of the Oceanus Procellarum. Due to its location the crater appears very oval because of foreshortening, and it is viewed almost from the side.
Cardanus is distinctive for the chain of craters, designated Catena Krafft, that connect its northern rim with the crater Krafft to the north. The outer rim is sharp-edged and somewhat irregular, with a hummocky outer rampart and terraces along parts of the inner wall. The crater floor has several small craterlets across its surface, and it has a low ridge near the midpoint. The floor surface is somewhat irregular in the southwest, but nearly featureless elsewhere.
To the southwest is the rille designated Rima Cardanus, a cleft in the mare that generally follows a northeasterly direction. To the southeast, beyond the rille, is the small crater Galilaei. Southwest of Cardanus is Olbers.
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Cardanus.
| Cardanus | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| B | 11.4° N | 73.8° W | 13 km |
| C | 11.3° N | 76.2° W | 14 km |
| E | 12.7° N | 70.7° W | 6 km |
| G | 11.5° N | 74.9° W | 8 km |
| K | 14.2° N | 76.8° W | 8 km |
| M | 14.9° N | 77.1° W | 9 km |
| R | 12.3° N | 73.4° W | 21 km |
References
- Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
- Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
- Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
- McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
- Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763.
- Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
- Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
- Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
- Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
- Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
- Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.