Maginus (crater)

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Maginus
Maginus crater 4119 h1 h2.jpg
Coordinates 50°00′S6°12′W / 50.0°S 6.2°W / -50.0; -6.2 Coordinates: 50°00′S6°12′W / 50.0°S 6.2°W / -50.0; -6.2
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 craters on Earths moon

Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, almost all of which were formed by impacts.

Impact crater Circular depression on a solid astronomical body formed by a hypervelocity impact of a smaller object

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 (crater) impact crater

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.

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 Maginus.

MaginusLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A48.8° S4.4° W14 km
B52.4° S6.2° W12 km
C51.7° S9.4° W42 km
D47.9° S2.2° W40 km
E49.0° S1.4° W37 km
F48.9° S8.2° W18 km
G48.0° S7.6° W23 km
H52.5° S10.0° W15 km
J49.9° S2.8° W8 km
K47.4° S3.9° W31 km
L49.2° S8.9° W11 km
M50.4° S9.3° W10 km
N48.5° S9.0° W24 km
O50.6° S12.6° W12 km
P50.7° S11.8° W10 km
Q50.8° S2.3° W9 km
R48.9° S10.4° W9 km
S49.7° S1.4° W13 km
T52.3° S7.1° W6 km
U47.4° S8.2° W9 km
V49.3° S7.3° W9 km
W49.3° S7.8° W8 km
X51.3° S7.6° W7 km
Y51.8° S9.1° W7 km
Z50.2° S3.6° W18 km

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dAlembert (crater) also named after the above

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Chevallier (crater) impact crater

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Gruemberger (crater) impact crater

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Dziewulski (crater) lunar crater

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References

Ewen Whitaker British astronomer

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.

NASA US government agency responsible for civilian space programs, and aeronautical and aerospace research

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.

United States Geological Survey Scientific agency of the United States government

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.