Encke (crater)

Encke

Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates	4°36′N36°36′W / 4.6°N 36.6°W / 4.6; -36.6
Diameter	28 km
Depth	0.8 km
Colongitude	37° at sunrise
Eponym	Johann F. Encke

The crater area in a Selenochromatic Image (Si)

Oblique view from Apollo 12

Encke is a lunar impact crater that is located on the western edge of the Mare Insularum, to the south-southeast of the crater Kepler. The small crater Kunowsky lies to the east-southeast on the mare.

The crater is named after German mathematician and astronomer Johann Franz Encke. ^[1]

The rim of Encke is low and somewhat polygonal in shape. The tiny craterlet Encke N lies across the western rim. The floor is somewhat uneven, and is covered in ray material from the nearby Kepler. The high albedo of this ejecta makes Encke a bright feature when the Sun is at a high elevation over the lunar surface.

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 Encke.

Encke	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
B	2.4° N	36.8° W	12 km
C	0.7° N	36.4° W	9 km
E	0.3° N	40.1° W	9 km
G	4.8° N	38.8° W	7 km
H	4.0° N	37.3° W	4 km
J	5.2° N	39.5° W	5 km
K	1.4° N	37.2° W	4 km
M	4.5° N	35.1° W	3 km
N	4.6° N	37.1° W	4 km
T	3.4° N	38.0° W	91 km
X	0.9° N	40.3° W	3 km
Y	5.9° N	36.4° W	3 km

• 
  High-resolution Lunar Orbiter 1 image of Encke C
• 
  Apollo 12 image of Encke C
• 
  Apollo 12 image of Encke E
• 
  Apollo 12 image of Encke X, with its bright ray system

External links

• Lunar Orbiter 1 sequence of images 153, 154, 155, and 156, showing Encke C and vicinity

References

1. "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Encke". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union . Retrieved August 29, 2017.

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