Lunar Orbiter 4 image | |
Coordinates | 50°00′S6°12′W / 50.0°S 6.2°W Coordinates: 50°00′S6°12′W / 50.0°S 6.2°W |
---|---|
Diameter | 194 km |
Depth | 4.3 km |
Colongitude | 7° at sunrise |
Eponym | Giovanni A. Magini |
Maginus is an ancient lunar impact crater located in the southern highlands to the southeast of the prominent crater Tycho. It is a large formation almost three quarters the diameter of Clavius, which lies to the southwest. Just to the north of Maginus is the smaller crater Proctor, and to the southeast is Deluc.
Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, almost all of which were formed by impacts.
An impact crater is an approximately circular depression in the surface of a planet, moon, or other solid body in the Solar System or elsewhere, formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller body. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters typically have raised rims and floors that are lower in elevation than the surrounding terrain. Impact craters range from small, simple, bowl-shaped depressions to large, complex, multi-ringed impact basins. Meteor Crater is a well-known example of a small impact crater on Earth.
Clavius is one of the largest crater formations on the Moon, and it is the second largest crater on the visible near side. It is located in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon, to the south of the prominent ray crater Tycho. The crater is named for the Jesuit priest Christopher Clavius, a 16th-century German mathematician and astronomer.
The rim of Maginus is heavily eroded, with impact-formed incisions, and multiple overlapping craters across the eastern side. The wall is broken through in the southeast by Maginus C, a worn crater. Little remains of the original features that formed the rim of Maginus, and it no longer possesses an outer rampart. The floor is relatively flat, with a pair of low central peaks.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Maginus.
Maginus | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
A | 48.8° S | 4.4° W | 14 km |
B | 52.4° S | 6.2° W | 12 km |
C | 51.7° S | 9.4° W | 42 km |
D | 47.9° S | 2.2° W | 40 km |
E | 49.0° S | 1.4° W | 37 km |
F | 48.9° S | 8.2° W | 18 km |
G | 48.0° S | 7.6° W | 23 km |
H | 52.5° S | 10.0° W | 15 km |
J | 49.9° S | 2.8° W | 8 km |
K | 47.4° S | 3.9° W | 31 km |
L | 49.2° S | 8.9° W | 11 km |
M | 50.4° S | 9.3° W | 10 km |
N | 48.5° S | 9.0° W | 24 km |
O | 50.6° S | 12.6° W | 12 km |
P | 50.7° S | 11.8° W | 10 km |
Q | 50.8° S | 2.3° W | 9 km |
R | 48.9° S | 10.4° W | 9 km |
S | 49.7° S | 1.4° W | 13 km |
T | 52.3° S | 7.1° W | 6 km |
U | 47.4° S | 8.2° W | 9 km |
V | 49.3° S | 7.3° W | 9 km |
W | 49.3° S | 7.8° W | 8 km |
X | 51.3° S | 7.6° W | 7 km |
Y | 51.8° S | 9.1° W | 7 km |
Z | 50.2° S | 3.6° W | 18 km |
Rutherfurd is a lunar impact crater located entirely within the southern rim of the much larger crater Clavius. The crater Porter is located to the north-northeast of Rutherfurd, on the northeastern rim of Clavius. Rutherfurd forms the larger member in an arcing chain of craters of decreasing size that curves across the floor of Clavius. The craters in this chain do not appear to be the same age, so this formation is most likely random in nature.
Longomontanus is an ancient lunar impact crater located in the rugged southern highlands to the southwest of the bright ray crater Tycho. Longomontanus is of the variety of large lunar formations called a "walled plain", although it is actually more of a circular depression in the surface.
Scheiner is a lunar impact crater that lies to the west of the enormous walled plain Clavius. To the southeast near the rim of Clavius is the crater Blancanus. The rim of Scheiner is worn, eroded, and marked with multiple impacts. It is most heavily worn in the northern part, where a cluster of craterlets covers the entrance to a low valley leading to the north. The floor of the crater has several craterlets, including Scheiner A that lies near the midpoint. There is also a low ridge crossing part of the eastern floor.
Blancanus is a lunar impact crater located in the rugged southern region of the Moon, to the southwest of the walled plain Clavius. To the northwest lies the comparably sized crater Scheiner, and south-southwest of Blancanus is the worn Klaproth.
Artem'ev is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. The rim of this crater has been modified by subsequent impacts in the vicinity, with an inward bulge along the southwest edge and a worn impact lying across the north rim. The satellite crater Artem'ev G is partly overlain by the southeast rim of Artem'ev. The crater interior is relatively flat, and marked only by tiny craterlets.
Asclepi is a heavily eroded lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. The outer rim has been worn down and rounded by many millions of years of subsequent impacts, so that it is now nearly level with the surrounding terrain. As a result, the crater is now little more than a depression in the surface. The interior is nearly flat and relatively featureless.
Borda is a lunar impact crater that lies between Santbech to the north-northwest and Reichenbach slightly further away to the south-southeast. It was named after French astronomer Jean-Charles de Borda. It has a low rim that is broken along the southeast by a smaller crater. The rim is intruded into by another small crater along the southwest side, and there is an irregular cleft along the northwest face. There is a central peak at the midpoint of the floor.
Porter is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern part of the Moon, and lies across the northeastern rim of the huge walled plain Clavius. Although generally circular, the form of this crater has been modified by the geometry of the surface on which it was formed. The outer rim is generally lower to the southwest, where it lies on the floor of Clavius. Likewise the interior floor is flatter near this face. In contrast the northeastern floor is rougher and more uneven in the northeastern half.
Barbier is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It forms a matched pair with Cyrano to the north-northwest, and it lies to the southeast of the huge walled plain Gagarin. Southwest of Barbier is the crater Sierpinski, and to the southeast is the Mare Ingenii.
Buisson is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It is named after the French physicist Henri Buisson. Nearly attached to the southeast rim is the crater Vesalius. To the southwest is Einthoven. The rim of this crater is somewhat worn, and is lowest in the north. There is a low central ridge across the midpoint.
Brouwer is a large lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. Intruding into the western rim of Brouwer is the younger and somewhat smaller crater Langmuir. Further to the east-southeast is the larger walled plain Blackett.
Casatus is a lunar impact crater that is located near the southern limb of the Moon. The north-northeast rim of the crater overlies a portion of the slightly larger crater Klaproth. Along the western rim, Casatus A intrudes somewhat into the interior, producing an inward-bowing rim. To the southeast of Casatus is Newton.
d'Alembert is a large lunar impact crater located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon, to the northeast of the somewhat smaller walled plain Campbell. Astride the southwest rim of d'Alembert is Slipher. To the north is the crater Yamamoto, and to the south-southwest lies Langevin. This walled plain has the same diameter as Clavius on the near side, making it one of the largest such formations on the Moon.
Leibnitz is a huge lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. This formation is the same size as Clavius on the near side. It is located to the east-southeast of Mare Ingenii, and is joined to the northeast rim of Von Kármán. Attached to the eastern rim of Leibnitz is Davisson, and intruding into the southeast rim is Finsen. Farther to the west is the large Oppenheimer.
Chevallier is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon's near side, about a crater diameter east-southeast of the prominent crater Atlas. To the south-southeast of Chevallier is the flooded crater Shuckburgh.
Chandler is a lunar impact crater in the northern hemisphere, on the Moon's far side. It lies to the southeast of the large walled plain D'Alembert, and southeast of the slightly smaller Chernyshev crater.
Wilson is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southern part of the Moon's near side, to the southwest of the large walled plain Clavius. It is nearly attached to the southeastern rim of the slightly larger crater Kircher. Almost due east lies Klaproth, another walled plain.
Gruemberger is an old impact crater in the southern part of the Moon. When viewed from the Earth this crater appears oval in shape due to foreshortening, but it is actually relatively circular. The crater lies about 25 kilometers to the north-northwest of the larger and more prominent crater Moretus. The smaller crater Cysatus intrudes into the eastern rim of Gruemberger. About one and a half crater diameters to the north is the large crater Clavius.
Dziewulski is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies between the craters Edison to the north and Popov to the south. The outer rim of this crater has been considerably worn by impacts, particularly along the southwest quadrant where the satellite crater Dziewulski Q overlies the rim and the interior floor. The northern rim is also heavily disrupted, and several small crater lie along the southeast rim. The interior floor and surrounding terrain has been resurfaced.
Ewen Adair Whitaker was a British-born astronomer who specialized in lunar studies. During World War II he was engaged in quality control for the lead sheathing of hollow cables strung under the English Channel as part of the "Pipe Line Under The Ocean" Project (PLUTO) to supply gasoline to Allied military vehicles in France. After the war, he obtained a position at the Royal Greenwich Observatory working on the UV spectra of stars, but became interested in lunar studies. As a sideline, Whitaker drew and published the first accurate chart of the South Polar area of the Moon in 1954, and served as director of the Lunar Section of the British Astronomical Association.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The USGS is a fact-finding research organization with no regulatory responsibility.