Langrenus (crater)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Langrenus is a prominent 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.

The inner wall of Langrenus is wide and irregularly terraced, with an average width of about 20 kilometers. The outer ramparts are irregular and hilly, and there is a bright, fragmented ray system spread across the maria to the west. The interior of the crater has a higher albedo than the surroundings, so the crater stands out prominently when the sun is overhead. The crater floor is covered by many boulders, and is slightly irregular in the northwest half. The central peaks rise about a kilometer above the floor, and a peak on the eastern rim ascends to an altitude of 3 km.

During the Apollo 8 mission, Astronaut James Lovell described Langrenus as, "quite a huge crater; it's got a central cone to it. The walls of the crater are terraced, about six or seven terraces on the way down."

In the past this crater has not been noted as a site for observing transient lunar phenomenon. However on December 30, 1992, Audouin Dollfus of the Observatoire de Paris observed a series of glows on the floor of this crater using the one-meter telescope. These glows changed form with time, and Professor Dollfus expressed the belief that this was likely a gaseous emission. The cracked floor of the crater may have been the source of the gas.

The Flemish Astronomer Michel Florent van Langren was the first person to draw a lunar map while giving names to many of the features. He even named this crater after himself. Ironically, this is the only one of his named features that has retained his original designation.

On the eastern edge of Mare Fecunditatis is the crater Langrenus, seen as the lighter grey area on the right-center of the photo.

[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 Langrenus crater.

Many of the more significant associated craters that surround Langrenus have since been renamed by the IAU.

• Langrenus A — See Barkla crater.
• Langrenus B — See Naonobu crater.
• Langrenus C — See Acosta crater.
• Langrenus D — See Al-Marrakushi crater.
• Langrenus F — See Bilharz crater.
• Langrenus J — See Somerville crater.
• Langrenus K — See Atwood crater.

[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. 

[edit] External links

• Wood, Chuck (November 25, 2007). Moving Eastward. Lunar Photo of the Day. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
• Lights glow on Moon