Coordinates | 16°28′S61°33′E / 16.46°S 61.55°E |
---|---|
Diameter | 147 km |
Depth | 2.6 km |
Colongitude | 300° at sunrise |
Eponym | Godefroy Wendelin |
Vendelinus is an ancient lunar impact crater located on the eastern edge of Mare Fecunditatis. To the north of Vendelinus is the prominent crater Langrenus, while to the southeast is Petavius, forming a chain of prominent craters near the eastern rim. Due to its location, the crater appears oblong due to foreshortening.
The crater was named after a Flemish astronomer Godefroy Wendelin in 1651 by Giovanni Riccioli. [1] In 1935 this name was approved by International Astronomical Union. [2]
The crater is heavily worn and overlapped by multiple craters, making this feature more difficult to identify except at low sun angles. The irregular rim is broken in several locations by overlapping craters. The most prominent of these is the break in the northeast wall from the overlapping crater Lamé. The smaller Lohse overlaps the rim to the northwest, and at the south end the crater wall is joined to Holden.
The floor of Vendelinus is flat and covered by a dark lava flow. (Webb noted that a dark patch could be seen on the floor of this crater at full moon.) It lacks a central peak, but includes multiple impact craters of various dimensions. Some of these are secondary craters from Langrenus, and display an oblong shape. The outer ramparts of Lamé form a rise on the northeastern floor.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Vendelinus.
The following craters have been renamed by the IAU:
Langrenus is an impact crater located near the eastern lunar limb. The feature is circular in shape, but appears oblong due to foreshortening. It lies on the eastern shore of the Mare Fecunditatis. To the south is the overlapping crater pair Vendelinus and the smaller Lamé.
Lamé is a lunar impact crater located astride the northeast rim of the crater Langrenus, to the east of Mare Fecunditatis. The eastern crater rim appears overlaid by a series of overlapping craters that form an intermittent chain flowing nearly a hundred kilometers to the south. The crater rim protrudes only slightly above the surrounding terrain, but it has a significant rampart where the rim lies within Vendelinus. In the middle of the floor is a slight ridge, forming a central peak.
Regiomontanus is an ancient lunar impact crater located in the southern highlands region to the southeast of Mare Nubium. It is joined at the chaotic northern rim by the crater Purbach, and to the south-southeast is Walther.
Al-Marrakushi is a small, relatively isolated lunar impact crater in the eastern Mare Fecunditatis. It is a circular, symmetrical formation, with inner walls that slope down to the midpoint. To the northeast is the prominent crater Langrenus. The mare near Al-Marrakushi is marked by ray material from its larger neighbor.
Grimaldi is a large basin located near the western limb of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the Oceanus Procellarum, and southeast of the crater Riccioli. Between Oceanus Procellarum is Damoiseau, and to the north is Lohrmann.
Humboldt is a large lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. Due to foreshortening this formation has an extremely oblong appearance. The actual shape of the crater is an irregular circle, with a significant indentation along the southeastern rim where the prominent crater Barnard intrudes. To the north-northwest of Humboldt is the large crater Hecataeus. Phillips is attached to the western rim. The rim of Humboldt is low, worn, and irregular in outline. The central peak forms a range on the crater floor. The floor surface contains a network of rilles forming a pattern of radial spokes and concentric arcs. There are also some dark patches located near the walls to the northeast, northwest, and southeast. There is a chain of craters leading from the northwest crater rim to a distance almost as long as the crater is wide. This formation is designated Catena Humboldt. Due to its location near the lunar limb, little detail was known about this crater until it was photographed by orbiting spacecraft.
Acosta is a small lunar impact crater located just to the north of the prominent crater Langrenus, near the east edge of Mare Fecunditatis. To the west are the trio of Atwood, Naonobu, and Bilharz. Acosta is named after the Portuguese naturalist Cristóvão da Costa.
Born is a small lunar impact crater located near the eastern edge of the Moon, to the northeast of the prominent crater Langrenus. It was previously designated Maclaurin Y before being named by the IAU in 1979. Maclaurin itself lies to the north.
Kepler is a lunar impact crater that lies between the Oceanus Procellarum to the west and Mare Insularum in the east. To the southeast is the crater Encke. Kepler is named for the 17th century German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler.
Ansgarius is a lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. When viewed from the Earth, the crater has a highly oval shape due to foreshortening, but the rim is actually nearly circular. To the northwest of Ansgarius is the crater La Pérouse, and south is Behaim.
Atwood is a small earth moon impact crater that is located on the Mare Fecunditatis, to the northwest of the prominent crater Langrenus. It forms a triple-crater formation with Naonobu attached to the north rim and Bilharz near the west rim.
Bilharz is a lunar impact crater that lies in the eastern part of the Mare Fecunditatis. It is the largest member of a close triple-crater formation with Atwood to the east and Naonobu to the northeast. To the southeast is the crater Langrenus.
Naonobu is a small lunar impact crater named after Japanese mathematician Ajima Naonobu. It is located on the eastern Mare Fecunditatis, to the northwest of the prominent crater Langrenus, and it forms a triple-crater formation with the adjacent Atwood to the south and Bilharz just to the southwest. Naonobu and Atwood are separated by only a few kilometres.
Becquerel is a lunar impact crater that lies in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. This is an ancient and heavily worn formation that is now little more than an irregular buri in the surface. The outer rim has been worn and reshaped until it forms a rugged, mountainous region around the flatter interior.
Barkla is a lunar impact crater that lies near the eastern limb of the Moon. It is located to the east of the prominent crater Langrenus, and was formerly designated Langrenus A before being renamed by the IAU in 1979. Due east of Barkla is Kapteyn, a formation only slightly larger with a similar size. Southwest of Barkla is the crater Lamé.
Oppenheimer is a large lunar impact crater that lies on the Far side of the Moon. It lies along the western outer rampart of the immense walled plain Apollo. Nearby features of note include the dark-floored crater Maksutov to the southwest, and Davisson to the west-southwest. The latter intrudes into the eastern rim of Leibnitz, a feature about 20% larger than Oppenheimer.
Kapteyn is a lunar impact crater that is near the eastern limb of the Moon, to the west of the crater La Pérouse. West of Kapteyn is the slightly smaller Barkla, and farther to the west-northwest is the prominent Langrenus. Von Behring is to the north-northeast.
Nobili is a lunar impact crater that lies near the eastern limb of the Moon, giving it a foreshortened appearance when viewed from the Earth. The crater overlies the western rim of the slightly larger crater Schubert X, and the eastern rim of this satellite crater is overlain in turn by Jenkins, resulting in a triple crater formation. To the south lies Gilbert.
Schuster is a lunar impact crater that lies along the eastern rim of the much larger walled plain Mendeleev, on the far side of the Moon. To the east of Schuster is the crater Henderson, and to the southeast lies the large Chaplygin.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)