Orontius (crater)

Last updated
Orontius
Orontius crater 4119 h2.jpg
Coordinates 40°18′S4°00′W / 40.3°S 4.0°W / -40.3; -4.0 Coordinates: 40°18′S4°00′W / 40.3°S 4.0°W / -40.3; -4.0
Diameter 122 km
Depth 3.1 km
Colongitude 4° at sunrise
Eponym Oronce Fine

Orontius is a lunar impact crater that lies in the heavily cratered southern highlands of the Moon's near side. It was named after 16th century French mathematician Oronce Fine. [1] It is located to the northwest of the prominent ray crater Tycho, and south and east of the large walled plain Deslandres. The eastern part of the crater is overlain by the smaller crater Huggins, which is overlain in turn on its eastern rim by the still smaller Nasireddin, the trio forming a crater chain of diminishing dimensions. Joined to the southern rim is the crater Saussure. To the southwest, just east of Tycho, is Pictet.

The rim of Orontius is battered, worn, and overlain by a number of different craters. A pair of craters to the west have intruded into the crater wall, forming inward bulges. Little of the original wall remains nearly intact, with the south and southwestern rim having survived the erosion process better than the other wall sections.

The southwest half of the crater floor is still fairly flat and marred only by a few small craterlets. In the north of the crater, the distorted feature Orontius F forms a distorted, crater-like oval.

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 Orontius.

OrontiusLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A39.1° S2.6° W7 km
B40.0° S3.1° W10 km
C37.9° S4.1° W15 km
D39.4° S6.2° W15 km
E39.5° S4.8° W6 km
F39.1° S3.9° W41 km

Related Research Articles

Schickard (crater) lunar crater

Schickard is a lunar impact crater of the form called a walled plain. It lies in the southwest sector of the Moon, near the lunar limb. As a result, the crater appears oblong due to foreshortening. Attached to the northern rim is the lesser crater Lehmann, and to the northeast is the even smaller Drebbel. Southwest of Schickard is Wargentin, a lava-flooded plateau.

Kies (crater) lunar crater

Kies is the remnant of a lunar impact crater that has been flooded by basaltic lava, leaving only a remnant of the outer rim. It was named after German mathematician and astronomer Johann Kies. It is located in the Mare Nubium almost due south of the crater Bullialdus. Northwest of Kies is König. To the south-southwest lies a lunar dome structure designated Kies Pi (π). It has a small crater at the top and is most likely volcanic in origin.

Alden (crater) lunar crater

Alden is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, between Hilbert to the north-northwest and Milne to the south-southeast. To the south-southwest lies Scaliger.

Hainzel (crater) impact crater

Hainzel is the southern member of a trio of overlapping lunar impact craters. The composite rim is located at the west edge of Lacus Timoris in the southwest sector of the Moon. The heavily worn crater Mee is attached to the southwest wall; its rim forms a ridge running from the south of the Hainzel formation.

Stöfler (crater) impact crater

Stöfler is a large lunar impact crater located in the crater-dotted southern highlands. It was named after 15th-16th century German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Stöffler. It sits to the west of the crater Maurolycus. The distorted crater Fernelius is attached to the northern rim, and Miller and Nasireddin lie to the west. Faraday has overlain and damaged the western rim, and this crater in turn has been overlain by several smaller craters.

Pictet (crater) lunar crater

Pictet is a lunar impact crater located just to the east of the larger and more prominent impact crater Tycho. The high-albedo rays and ejecta from Tycho lie across Pictet and spread far to the east and in other directions. Pictet is older than Tycho and is somewhat worn by past impacts. The slightly smaller crater Pictet A intrudes slightly into the southwest rim. The larger crater Pictet E is nearly joined to the north rim. To the east is Saussure, and to the northeast is the larger, worn formation Orontius.

Faraday (crater) lunar crater

Faraday is a lunar impact crater in the southern highlands of the Moon. It was named after British chemist and physicist Michael Faraday. It lies across the southeast rim of the larger crater Stöfler, and the northwest rim of Faraday forms a wide rampart across the otherwise flat floor of Stöfler. To the east of Faraday is Maurolycus.

Fernelius (crater) lunar crater

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.

Artemev (crater) lunar crater

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.

Boss (crater) lunar impact crater

Boss is a lunar impact crater that is located along the northeast rim of the Moon's near side. Due to its location, the crater is viewed from the side by observers on the Earth, and its visibility is subject to libration effects.

Lexell (crater)

Lexell is a lunar impact crater that lies across the southeastern rim of the huge walled plain Deslandres, in the southern part of the Moon. It was named after Swedish-Russian mathematician and astronomer Anders Johan Lexell. To the northeast is the walled plain Walther, and to the south is Orontius, another walled plain.

Wilhelm (crater) lunar impact crater

Wilhelm is a lunar impact crater in the southern part of the Moon, to the west of the prominent Tycho. Portions of the ray material from Tycho lie across the rim and floor of Wilhelm. Attached to its southern rim is the crater Montanari, while Lagalla is attached to the southwest. To the north-northeast is Heinsius.

Chebyshev (crater) lunar crater

Chebyshev is a large lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. The somewhat smaller crater Langmuir is intruding into the east-southeastern rim of Chebyshev, forming a chain of large craters with Brouwer on Langmuir's eastern rim.

Crocco (crater) impact crater

Crocco is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon from the Earth. It is located to the northeast of the huge walled plain Planck, and northwest of the equally huge Poincaré. Just to the north, within one crater diameter, is the crater Koch.

Sasserides (crater) impact crater

Sasserides is the remains of a lunar impact crater in the southern part of the Moon. It was named after Danish astronomer Gellio Sasceride. It is located less than one crater diameter to the north of the prominent crater Tycho, and west of Orontius. To the north is Ball.

Seneca (crater) lunar crater

Seneca is a lunar impact crater that is located towards the east-northeastern limb, less than one crater diameter to the north of Plutarch. To the northwest is the crater Hahn, and due north lies the large walled plain Gauss.

Montanari (crater) lunar crater

Montanari is a lunar impact crater. It is located to the west-southwest of the prominent ray crater Tycho, and is attached to the southern rim of the walled plain Wilhelm. Along the northwestern side is the crater remnant Lagalla, and just to the south is the large walled plain Longomontanus.

Evans (crater) lunar crater

Evans is the remnant of a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the south-southwest of the immense walled plain Hertzsprung, and is located within that impact basin's broad skirt of ejecta. This material has overflowed the northern rim of Evans and the northern part of the interior floor. The southern rim is not as heavily damaged, although it is irregular, eroded, and overlain by a pair of small craterlets. The most intact part of the rim is the southeastern section.

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.

Lauritsen (crater) lunar crater

Lauritsen is a lunar impact crater that is located just behind the east-southeastern limb of the Moon. While it lies on the far side from the Earth, it is still possible to catch a glimpse of this area under favorable conditions of libration and illumination. The crater is situated roughly equidistant from Titius to the east and Donner to the southeast, so that the three form an equilateral triangle. To the northwest is the walled plain Curie.

References

  1. "Orontius (crater)" . Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.