Nonius (crater)

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Nonius
Nonius crater 4107 h3.jpg
Coordinates 34°48′S3°48′E / 34.8°S 3.8°E / -34.8; 3.8 Coordinates: 34°48′S3°48′E / 34.8°S 3.8°E / -34.8; 3.8
Diameter 69 km
Depth 3.0 km
Colongitude 357° at sunrise
Eponym Pedro Nunes
Satellite craters Nonius lunar crater map.jpg
Satellite craters

Nonius is a lunar impact crater. It is located in the rugged southern highlands on the Moon's near side. It was named after 16th century Portuguese mathematician Pedro Nunes, Latinized as Nonius. [1] The northwestern side and about half the interior floor are overlain by the rim and outer rampart of the walled plain Walther. About half its diameter to the southeast is the smaller crater Kaiser, and slightly farther to the south lies Fernelius.

Lunar craters

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.

Moon Earths natural satellite

Earth's Moon is an astronomical body that orbits the planet and acts as its only permanent natural satellite. It is the fifth-largest satellite in the Solar System, and the largest among planetary satellites relative to the size of the planet that it orbits. The Moon is, after Jupiter's satellite Io, the second-densest satellite in the Solar System among those whose densities are known.

The surviving rim of this crater has been damaged by multiple impacts, including the merged pair of Nonius K and Nonius L across the northern rim. The surviving outline is more hexagonal in shape than round. The interior floor has an uneven surface, with low ridges and a crater-formed gouge in the western half.

Hexagon shape with six sides

In geometry, a hexagon is a six-sided polygon or 6-gon. The total of the internal angles of any simple (non-self-intersecting) hexagon is 720°.

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 Nonius.

NoniusLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A35.4° S5.6° E10 km
B35.8° S2.0° E21 km
C35.4° S1.1° E7 km
D35.5° S1.8° E6 km
F35.9° S3.8° E7 km
G34.7° S5.7° E6 km
K33.7° S3.9° E18 km
L33.5° S3.5° E31 km
Q35.9° S4.2° E7 km
R35.9° S3.3° E10 km
S34.8° S4.3° E4 km

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Fernelius is a lunar impact crater located in the southern highlands just to the north of the walled plain Stöfler. It was named after 16th century French astronomer Jean Fernel. The crater Kaiser is located next to the northwest rim of Fernelius. To the north-northwest are the craters Nonius and Walther. Southeast of Fernelius is the crater cluster of Miller, Nasireddin, Huggins, and Orontius.

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Chevallier (crater) impact crater

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Cyrano (crater)

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Chernyshev (crater) lunar crater

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Faye (crater) lunar crater

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Kaiser (lunar crater) lunar crater

Kaiser is a lunar impact crater. It lies in the crater-riddled terrain in the southern part of the Moon's near side. It was named after the Dutch astronomer Frederik Kaiser. The crater is nearly attached to the northeast rim the slightly larger crater Fernelius, and the two are separated by an irregular patch of ground only a few kilometers wide. To the northwest of Kaiser lies Nonius, a crater remnant.

Douglass (lunar crater) lunar crater

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Emden (crater) lunar crater

Emden is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It is named after Jacob Robert Emden (1862-1940).

Fowler (crater) impact crater

Fowler is a large lunar impact crater that lies in the northern hemisphere on the Moon's far side. It lies to the south-southwest of the crater Esnault-Pelterie, and north of Gadomski. Overlying the eastern rim and intruding into the interior is Von Zeipel.

Idelson (crater)

Idel'son is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies just behind the southern lunar limb, in a region that is sometimes brought into view of the Earth due to libration. Idel'son is situated to the southwest of the huge walled plain Schrödinger.

References

  1. "Nonius". Gazeteer of Planetary Nomenclature. International Astronomical Union . Retrieved 7 September 2017.
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 space-related agency of the United States government

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.

Ben J. Bussey is an American planetary scientist.