Coordinates | 0°24′S32°42′E / 0.4°S 32.7°E |
---|---|
Diameter | 3.8 km |
Depth | 0.4 km |
Colongitude | 328° at sunrise |
Eponym | Censorinus |
Censorinus is a 3.8 km lunar impact crater located on a rise to the southeast of the Mare Tranquillitatis. It is named after the ancient Roman writer Censorinus. [1] To the northeast is the crater Maskelyne.
Censorinus is distinguished by an area of high-albedo material surrounding the rim. This makes the feature highly prominent when the Sun is at a high angle, and it is one of the brightest objects on the visible Moon. Bright streaks radiate away radially from the crater, and contrast with the darker lunar mare.
This formation has a sharp-edged, raised rim and a symmetrical, cup-shaped interior. Close-up photographs of this crater by Lunar Orbiter 5 show many large blocks lying along the sloping outer rampart. The surface near the crater is hummocky from the deposited ejecta. The crater is otherwise undistinguished.
The vicinity of Censorinus was once considered for an early Apollo landing site. [2] [3]
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Censorinus.
Censorinus | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
A | 0.4° S | 33.0° E | 7 km |
B | 2.0° S | 31.4° E | 8 km |
C | 3.0° S | 34.1° E | 28 km |
D | 1.9° S | 35.8° E | 10 km |
E | 3.6° S | 34.8° E | 12 km |
H | 1.8° S | 33.7° E | 10 km |
J | 1.0° S | 31.3° E | 5 km |
K | 1.0° S | 28.8° E | 4 km |
L | 2.5° S | 31.2° E | 4 km |
N | 1.9° S | 36.5° E | 36 km |
S | 3.8° S | 36.1° E | 17 km |
T | 3.2° S | 31.1° E | 5 km |
U | 1.5° S | 34.4° E | 3 km |
V | 0.6° S | 35.4° E | 4 km |
W | 1.0° S | 37.5° E | 9 km |
X | 0.5° S | 37.2° E | 18 km |
Z | 3.7° S | 36.8° E | 12 km |
The following craters have been renamed by the IAU.
Fracastorius is the lava-flooded remnant of an ancient lunar impact crater located at the southern edge of Mare Nectaris. To the northwest of this formation lies the crater Beaumont, while to the northeast is Rosse.
Seleucus is a lunar impact crater located in the western part of Oceanus Procellarum. To the west is the lava-flooded remains of the walled plain Eddington. To the southwest is the crater Krafft and to the northwest lies Briggs.
Aryabhata, named after Indian astronomer Aryabhata, is the remnant of a lunar impact crater located in the eastern Mare Tranquillitatis. The crater has been almost submerged by lava-flow, and now only an arc-shaped ridge formed from the eastern half of the rim remains above the lunar mare. This crater was previously identified as Maskelyne E before being named by the IAU in 1979. Maskelyne itself is to the southwest.
Abbot is a small lunar impact crater that lies on the rugged ground between the Mare Fecunditatis in the south and west, and the Mare Crisium to the north. It is a circular crater with a cup-shaped interior. The inner walls slope downward to the midpoint, and no impacts of significant mark the interior or the rim.
Egede is the remains of a lunar impact crater that has been flooded by lava, leaving only the somewhat polygonal circumference of the rim protruding just above the mare. It was named after Dano-Norwegian natural historian Hans Egede. It is located on the southern edge of the Mare Frigoris, to the west of the crater Aristoteles. To the southwest is an arc of low mountains curving between the rims of Aristoteles and Eudoxus. The floor of Egede is flat and nearly featureless, except for a few tiny craterlets, including secondaries from Aristoteles. The surviving rim has a maximum altitude of 0.4 km above the surface.
Bohnenberger is a lunar impact crater that lies near the east edge of the Mare Nectaris, in the foothills of the Montes Pyrenaeus mountain range that forms the perimeter of the mare. To the east beyond the mountains is the larger crater Colombo. The crater has a low rim along the north wall, and the floor is somewhat irregular with a ridge crossing the floor. There is a small crater along the western inner wall.
Bonpland is the remains of a lunar impact crater that is attached to the walled plain Fra Mauro to the north and Parry to the east. The intersection of their rims forms a three-pointed mountainous rise. To the southeast is the small crater Tolansky. Bonpland lies on the eastern edge of Mare Cognitum. It is named after Aimé Bonpland, a French explorer and botanist.
Cavalerius is a prominent lunar impact crater that lies on the western edge of the Oceanus Procellarum lunar mare on the west part of the visible Moon. It nearly joins the northern rim of Hevelius to the south.
Descartes is a heavily worn lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged south-central highlands of the Moon. To the southwest is the crater Abulfeda. It is named after the French philosopher, mathematician and physicist René Descartes.
Littrow is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon's near side, on the east edge of Mare Serenitatis. Its diameter is 29 km. The crater is named after Bohemian astronomer Joseph Johann Littrow. Some distance to the northeast is the prominent crater Römer, while to the south is Vitruvius.
Maskelyne is a solitary lunar impact crater that lies in the southeast part of the Mare Tranquillitatis. Its diameter is 22 km. It was named after British astronomer Nevil Maskelyne. The outer rim has a somewhat polygonal shape, although it is generally circular. The inner walls are terraced and there is a low central rise at the midpoint of the floor.
Alhazen is a lunar impact crater that lies near the eastern limb of the Moon's near side. Just to the south-southeast is the crater Hansen, and to the west is the Mare Crisium. The rim of Alhazen is nearly circular, but appears highly oblong when viewed from the Earth due to foreshortening. The inner walls and the crater floor are rugged and irregular. A low ridge joins the south rim of Alhazen with the nearby Hansen. The crater is named after the Arab Muslim scientist, Ibn al-Haytham.
Atwood is a small earth moon impact crater that is located on the Mare Fecunditatis, to the northwest of the prominent crater Langrenus. It forms a triple-crater formation with Naonobu attached to the north rim and Bilharz near the west rim.
Boss is a lunar impact crater that is located along the northeast rim of the Moon's near side. Due to its location, the crater is viewed from the side by observers on the Earth, and its visibility is subject to libration effects.
Black is a small lunar impact crater that lies just to the southeast of the walled basin Kästner. To the south-southwest is the crater Ansgarius, and to the east is the small Dale. It is located near the eastern limb of the Moon, just to the southwest of the Mare Smythii.
Condon is a lunar impact crater that lies on the eastern shore of the Sinus Successus, a bay along the northeast edge of Mare Fecunditatis. It was named after American physicist Edward U. Condon in 1976. It lies midway between the larger crater Apollonius to the north and the smaller Webb to the south on the Mare Fecunditatis. Condon was previously designated Webb R.
Damoiseau is a lunar impact crater that is located just to the west of the Oceanus Procellarum, in the western part of the Moon's near side. It lies due east of the prominent crater Grimaldi, a walled plain with a distinctive dark floor. Due south of Damoiseau is the crater Sirsalis.
Couder is a small lunar impact crater that is located just behind the western limb of the Moon, in a region of the surface that is brought into view during favorable librations. It lies on the inner foothills of the Montes Cordillera, a ring-shaped mountain range that surrounds the Mare Orientale impact basin.
Dale is a small lunar impact crater located in the far eastern part of the Moon's near side, to the south of the Mare Smythii. It lies to the southeast of the larger crater Kastner and northeast of Ansgarius. The crater is located in a part of the lunar surface that is subject to libration, which can hide it from view for periods of time.
Debes is a lunar impact crater that is located to the north of the Mare Crisium, in the eastern part of the Moon's near side. It was named after German cartographer Ernst Debes. It lies just to the northwest of the crater Tralles and the prominent Cleomedes.