This is a list of named lunar craters. The large majority of these features are impact craters. The crater nomenclature is governed by the International Astronomical Union, and this listing only includes features that are officially recognized by that scientific society.
| List of craters on the Moon | |||||
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| A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z | |||||
The lunar craters are listed in the following subsections. Where a formation has associated satellite craters, these are detailed on the main crater description pages.
Lunar craters are listed alphabetically on the following partial lists:
Locations and diameters of some prominent craters on the near side of the Moon:
Langrenus is an impact crater located near the eastern lunar limb. The feature is circular in shape, but appears oblong due to foreshortening. It lies on the eastern shore of the Mare Fecunditatis. To the south is the overlapping crater pair Vendelinus and the smaller Lamé.
Lamé is a lunar impact crater located astride the northeast rim of the crater Langrenus, to the east of Mare Fecunditatis. The eastern crater rim appears overlaid by a series of overlapping craters that form an intermittent chain flowing nearly a hundred kilometers to the south. The crater rim protrudes only slightly above the surrounding terrain, but it has a significant rampart where the rim lies within Vendelinus. In the middle of the floor is a slight ridge, forming a central peak.
Vendelinus is an ancient lunar impact crater located on the eastern edge of Mare Fecunditatis. To the north of Vendelinus is the prominent crater Langrenus, while to the southeast is Petavius, forming a chain of prominent craters near the eastern rim. Due to its location, the crater appears oblong due to foreshortening.
Al-Marrakushi is a small, relatively isolated lunar impact crater in the eastern Mare Fecunditatis. It is a circular, symmetrical formation, with inner walls that slope down to the midpoint. To the northeast is the prominent crater Langrenus. The mare near Al-Marrakushi is marked by ray material from its larger neighbor.
Acosta is a small lunar impact crater located just to the north of the prominent crater Langrenus, near the east edge of Mare Fecunditatis. To the west are the trio of Atwood, Naonobu, and Bilharz. Acosta is named after the Portuguese naturalist Cristóvão da Costa.
Lohse is a lunar impact crater on the eastern edge of Mare Fecunditatis. It is attached to the north rim of the larger crater Vendelinus. To the north is the prominent Langrenus. The interior of Lohse is rough, being partially covered by ejecta from Langrenus. It has a small central peak. An older impact is attached to the north rim, designated Langrenus E.
Born is a small lunar impact crater located near the eastern edge of the Moon, to the northeast of the prominent crater Langrenus. It was previously designated Maclaurin Y before being named by the IAU in 1979. Maclaurin itself lies to the north.
Arrhenius is a lunar impact crater that is located just on the far side of the Moon, near the southwest limb. In this location the vicinity of the crater can be viewed during favorable librations, although it is viewed from on edge. To the south-southeast is the worn crater Blanchard, and De Roy lies further to the west.
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.
Naonobu is a small lunar impact crater named after Japanese mathematician Ajima Naonobu. It is located on the eastern Mare Fecunditatis, to the northwest of the prominent crater Langrenus, and it forms a triple-crater formation with the adjacent Atwood to the south and Bilharz just to the southwest. Naonobu and Atwood are separated by only a few kilometres.
Barkla is a lunar impact crater that lies near the eastern limb of the Moon. It is located to the east of the prominent crater Langrenus, and was formerly designated Langrenus A before being renamed by the IAU in 1979. Due east of Barkla is Kapteyn, a formation only slightly larger with a similar size. Southwest of Barkla is the crater Lamé.
Cannon is a lunar impact crater that is located near the east-northeastern limb of the Moon's near side. It lies just to the northwest of the Mare Marginis, and south-southeast of the crater Plutarch. Farther to the east-northeast is Hubble.
De Roy is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just behind the southwestern limb. This portion of the lunar surface is brought into view during favorable librations, allowing observation of this formation. However the crater is viewed from the side when watched from the Earth, and little detail can be seen. De Roy lies to the west of the crater Arrhenius, and east of the larger Boltzmann.
Dollond is a small lunar impact crater that is located in the central region of the Moon, to the north of the crater Abulfeda. It was named after British optician John Dollond. Due west of Dollond is Anděl. Dollond is circular and cone shaped, with a tiny floor at the midpoint of the sloping interior walls.
Maclaurin is a lunar impact crater that is located in the eastern part of the Moon's near side. It lies just to the southeast of the small Mare Spumans, and to the northeast of the prominent crater Langrenus. To the east-southeast is Gilbert.
Somerville is a small lunar impact crater in the eastern part of the Moon. It lies to the east of the prominent crater Langrenus, and was designated Langrenus J before being given a name by the IAU. This is a roughly circular, bowl-shaped formation, with the larger but less conspicuous Langrenus H attached to the northwest rim. The rim has a protruding lip that extends slightly toward the southwest.
Hubble is a lunar impact crater that lies very near the east-northeastern limb of the Moon. At this location it is viewed almost from the side from Earth, and the visibility of this feature is affected by libration. It lies to the north of the Mare Marginis and northeast of the crater Cannon. About one crater diameter to the north-northeast is Lyapunov.
Kapetyn is a lunar impact crater that is near the eastern limb of the Moon, to the west of the crater La Pérouse. West of Kapetyn is the slightly smaller Barkla, and farther to the west-northwest is the prominent Langrenus. Von Behring is to the north-northeast.
Mons Hadley is a massif in the northern portion of the Montes Apenninus, a range in the northern hemisphere of the Moon. It has a height of 4.5 km (2.8 mi) 14,764 ft (4,500 m) above the adjacent plain and a maximum diameter of 25 km at the base.
The following sources were used as references on the individual crater pages.
The following reference sites were also used during the assembly of the crater information.
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