Sacrobosco (crater)

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Sacrobosco
Sacrobosco crater 4089 h1.jpg
Coordinates 23°42′S16°42′E / 23.7°S 16.7°E / -23.7; 16.7 Coordinates: 23°42′S16°42′E / 23.7°S 16.7°E / -23.7; 16.7
Diameter 98 km
Depth 2.8 km
Colongitude 344° at sunrise
Eponym Johannes de Sacrobosco
Location of Sacrobosco Crater Sacrobosco.jpg
Location of Sacrobosco

Sacrobosco is an irregular lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged southern highlands to the west of the Rupes Altai escarpment. It is a readily identified feature due to the three circular craters that lie on its floor. The rim of Sacrobosco is heavily worn and eroded, especially in the northeast. The floor is relatively flat in the south, except where overlain by Sacrobosco A and B, but is somewhat irregular in the northeast.

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.

Rupes Altai rupes

Rupes Altai is an escarpment in the lunar surface that is located in the southeastern quadrant of the Moon's near side. It is named for the Altai Mountains in Asia, and is the most prominent lunar escarpment. The selenographic coordinates of this feature are 24.3°S 22.6°E, and it has a length of about 427 km.

To the northwest of Sacrobosco is the double crater Abenezra and Azophi. To the east-northeast is Fermat, and to the south-southwest lies Pontanus.

Abenezra (crater) impact crater

Abenezra is a lunar impact crater located in the rugged highlands in the south-central section of the Moon. Abenezra is named after the Sephardic Jewish sage, poet, biblical commentator, astronomer, and astrologer Abraham ibn Ezra, It is attached along the southeast rim to the crater Azophi. To the northeast lies the crater Geber, and further to the southeast is the larger Sacrobosco.

Azophi (crater) impact crater

Azophi is a lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged south-central highlands of the Moon. The crater is named after the 10th-century Persian astronomer Abd Al-Rahman Al Sufi, also known by his western name, Azophi. The northwest rim is attached to the slightly smaller crater Abenezra, to the east-southeast is the large and irregular Sacrobosco, and to the west-southwest is the slightly crater Playfair.

Fermat (crater) lunar crater

Fermat is a lunar impact crater located to the west of the Rupes Altai escarpment. To the west-southwest is the larger crater Sacrobosco, and to the southwest is the irregular Pons. It is 39 kilometers in diameter and two kilometers deep.

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 Sacrobosco.

SacroboscoLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A24.0° S16.2° E17 km
B23.9° S16.9° E14 km
C23.0° S15.8° E13 km
D21.6° S17.7° E24 km
E26.1° S17.7° E13 km
F21.1° S16.7° E19 km
G20.7° S16.2° E20 km
H23.7° S18.7° E13 km
J23.6° S14.6° E5 km
K22.9° S14.7° E6 km
L25.6° S15.1° E9 km
M25.3° S16.3° E8 km
N27.0° S16.5° E6 km
O21.1° S16.0° E6 km
P20.6° S17.3° E5 km
Q21.6° S17.5° E42 km
R22.3° S15.7° E21 km
S26.5° S18.0° E19 km
T24.9° S16.8° E12 km
U24.0° S14.3° E5 km
V24.5° S16.1° E4 km
W24.3° S17.3° E2 km
X26.5° S16.3° E23 km

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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 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.

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.