Stöfler (crater)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Crater characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41.1° S, 6.0° E |
| Diameter | 126 km |
| Depth | 2.8 km |
| Colongitude | 354° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Johannes Stöffler |
Stöfler is a large lunar impact crater located in the crater-riddled southern highlands, named for Johannes Stöffler. It sits to the west of Maurolycus crater. The distorted Fernelius crater is attached to the northern rim, and Miller and Nasireddin craters lie to the west. The Faraday crater has overlain and damaged the western rim, and this crater in turn has been overlaid by several smaller craters.
The rim of Stöfler is worn and eroded, but the outline remains relatively intact except where overlain by Faraday. The smaller 'Stöfler K' intrudes into the northwest rim, and 'Stöfler F' forms an indentation into the base of the southwest interior wall.
The crater floor has been filled in with deposits, either from lava flows or ejecta from basin impacts, and is relatively flat and featureless in the northwest half. If there was a central peak, it has now become buried. The floor has a low albedo, making the crater relatively easy to identify as it is one of the few craters in this region of the lunar surface that have a dark floor. Traces of bright ray material from Tycho crater, located to the west, can been seen across the floor.
[edit] Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Stöfler crater.
| Stöfler | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| D | 43.8° S | 4.3° E | 54 km |
| E | 43.8° S | 5.8° E | 16 km |
| F | 42.7° S | 4.9° E | 18 km |
| G | 43.4° S | 2.0° E | 20 km |
| H | 40.3° S | 1.7° E | 27 km |
| J | 42.2° S | 2.4° E | 76 km |
| K | 39.4° S | 4.2° E | 19 km |
| L | 39.1° S | 7.8° E | 17 km |
| M | 41.0° S | 8.1° E | 9 km |
| N | 41.9° S | 6.6° E | 14 km |
| O | 43.3° S | 1.3° E | 9 km |
| P | 43.2° S | 7.3° E | 33 km |
| R | 42.2° S | 1.8° E | 6 km |
| S | 44.9° S | 5.8° E | 9 km |
| T | 39.7° S | 8.2° E | 5 km |
| U | 40.1° S | 9.6° E | 5 km |
| X | 40.5° S | 5.5° E | 3 km |
| Y | 39.9° S | 5.5° E | 3 km |
| Z | 40.3° S | 3.2° E | 4 km |
[edit] References
- See the reference table for the general listing of literature and web sites that were used in the compilation of this page.
