Fra Mauro (crater)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Crater characteristics | |
| Coordinates | 6.0° S, 17.0° W |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 95 km |
| Depth | None |
| Colongitude | 17° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Fra Mauro |
Fra Mauro is the worn remnant of a walled lunar plain. It is part of the surrounding Fra Mauro formation, being located to the northeast of Mare Cognitum and southeast of Mare Insularum. Attached to the southern rim are the co-joined Bonpland and Parry craters, which intrude into the formation forming inward-bulging walls.
The surviving rim of Fra Mauro is heavily worn, with incisions from past impacts and openings in the north and east walls. The rim is the most prominent in the southeast, where it shares a wall with Parry. The remainder consists of little more than low, irregular ridges. The maximum elevation of the outer rim is 0.7 km.
The floor of this formation has been covered by basaltic-lava. This surface is almost divided by clefts running from the north and south rims. There is no central peak, although the tiny 'Fra Mauro E' crater lies at almost the mid-point of the formation.
Just to the north of the walled plain is the landing site of the Apollo 14 mission. The crew sampled breccia that had been deposited here by the Imbrium basin-forming impact, and which partly covers the Fra Mauro crater. This rough debris blanket of ejecta is referred to as the "Fra Mauro Formation".
[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 Fra Mauro crater.
| Fra Mauro | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 5.4° S | 20.9° W | 9 km |
| B | 4.0° S | 21.7° W | 7 km |
| C | 5.4° S | 21.6° W | 7 km |
| D | 4.8° S | 17.6° W | 5 km |
| E | 6.0° S | 16.8° W | 4 km |
| F | 6.7° S | 16.9° W | 3 km |
| G | 2.2° S | 16.3° W | 6 km |
| H | 4.1° S | 15.5° W | 6 km |
| J | 2.6° S | 18.6° W | 3 km |
| K | 2.5° S | 16.7° W | 6 km |
| N | 5.3° S | 17.4° W | 3 km |
| P | 5.4° S | 16.5° W | 3 km |
| R | 2.2° S | 15.6° W | 3 km |
| T | 2.1° S | 19.3° W | 3 km |
| W | 1.3° S | 16.8° W | 4 km |
| X | 4.5° S | 17.3° W | 20 km |
| Y | 4.1° S | 16.7° W | 4 km |
| Z | 3.8° S | 14.6° W | 5 km |
[edit] References
- Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A., (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
- Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
- Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81528-2.
- Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 0-936389-27-3.
- McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). Lunar Nomenclature. Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved on 2007-10-24.
- Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by The Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews 12: 136.
- Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co.. ISBN 0-304-35469-4.
- Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521335000.
- Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-913135-17-8.
- Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, 6th revision, Dover. ISBN 0-486-20917-2.
- Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62248-4.
- Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 1852331933.
