Deslandres (crater)

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Deslandres
Deslandres crater 4107 h3 4112 h3.jpg
Mosaic of Lunar Orbiter 4 images
Coordinates 32°33′S5°34′W / 32.55°S 5.57°W / -32.55; -5.57
Diameter 227 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 5° at sunrise
Eponym Henri A. Deslandres
Satellite craters Deslandres lunar crater map.jpg
Satellite craters

Deslandres is the heavily worn and distorted remains of a lunar impact crater. It is located to the southeast of the Mare Nubium, in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. In dimension it is the third-largest crater formation on the visible Moon, being beaten only by Clavius (231 km) and by the 303-kilometer-diameter walled plain Bailly. The northern and eastern parts of the floor display a relatively level surface, but it is pock-marked with numerous craters. There is a small region of mare material, due to basaltic lava, along the eastern interior floor.

The crater Walther is attached to the remnant of the eastern rim, and Ball intrudes into the southwestern rim. The crater remnant Lexell has broken across the southeastern rim, forming a "harbor" in the crater floor due to the wide gap in its northern rim. The irregular crater Regiomontanus is attached to the northeast rim of Deslandres. The crater Hell lies entirely within the western rim.

The satellite crater Hell Q lies at the center of a patch of higher albedo surface located in the eastern half of Deslandres. Around the time of the full moon this feature is one of the brightest spots on the lunar surface. The light hue indicates a relatively youthful feature in lunar geological terms. This patch is sometimes referred to as "Cassini's bright spot", as it was first mapped by Cassini in 1672 at the Paris Observatory.

This feature is so heavily eroded and degraded by overlapping impacts that it was not actually recognized as a crater formation until the 20th century. The name for this formation was suggested by Eugène M. Antoniadi in 1942, and was passed during the general assembly of the IAU in 1948. [1]

According to one version, Luna 5 impacted lunar surface in this crater ( 31°S8°W / 31°S 8°W / -31; -8 ). [2]

The first released images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2009 were of the area in the southern part of this crater. [3]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomson (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poincaré (crater)</span> Lunar surface depression

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fechner (crater)</span> Lunar surface depression

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Becquerel (lunar crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desargues (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">De La Rue (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fabry (crater)</span> Impact crater

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolyai (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cremona (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hell (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Hell is a lunar crater in the south of the Moon's near side, within the western half of the enormous walled plain Deslandres. To the southeast, also within Deslandres, is the larger crater Lexell, and about 9° to the south lies the prominent Tycho crater. The crater received its name in 1935 after the Hungarian astronomer and ordained Jesuit priest Maximilian Hell. It has 19 satellite craters with diameters ranging between about 3 and 22 km. Nearly all Hell craters are relatively flat and shallow, with a sharp, well-defined rim and a typical diameter-to-depth ratio of about 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lexell (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater in the southern part of the Moon

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riemann (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Riemann is a lunar impact crater that is located near the northeastern limb of the Moon, and can just be observed edge-on when libration effects bring it into sight. It lies to the east-northeast of the large walled plain Gauss. To the southeast, beyond sight on the far side, is the crater Vestine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darwin (lunar crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Darwin is a lunar impact crater of the type categorised as a walled plain. It lies in the southeastern part of the Moon, and is sufficiently close to the limb to appear significantly foreshortened when viewed from the Earth. Attached to its southern rim is Lamarck. To the northeast is the dark-floored crater Crüger.

dAlembert (crater) Lunar impact crater

d'Alembert is a large lunar impact crater located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon, to the northeast of the somewhat smaller walled plain Campbell. Astride the southwest rim of d'Alembert is Slipher. To the north is the crater Yamamoto, and to the south-southwest lies Langevin. This walled plain has the same diameter as Clavius on the near side, making it one of the largest such formations on the Moon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevallier (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Chevallier is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon's near side, about a crater diameter east-southeast of the prominent crater Atlas. To the south-southeast of Chevallier is the flooded crater Shuckburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassini (lunar crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Cassini is a lunar impact crater that is located in the Palus Nebularum, at the eastern end of Mare Imbrium. The crater was named after astronomers Giovanni Cassini and Jacques Cassini. To the northeast is the Promontorium Agassiz, the southern tip of the Montes Alpes mountain range. South by south-east of Cassini is the crater Theaetetus. To the northwest is the lone peak Mons Piton.

References

  1. "Deslandres". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. "Luna 5". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  3. Robert Garner (July 2, 2009). "LRO's First Moon Images". NASA. Archived from the original on 2009-08-08. Retrieved 2015-08-07.