Maupertuis (crater)

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Crater characteristics
Coordinates	49.6° N, 27.3° W
Diameter	45 km
Depth	1.5 km
Colongitude	28° at sunrise
Eponym	Pierre L. de Maupertuis

Maupertuis is the remnant of a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern part of the Moon's near side. It lies in the stretch of rugged terrain north of Sinus Iridum, a bay in the northwestern corner of Mare Imbrium. To the north lies La Condamine crater and Mare Frigoris.

This is a crater that has been nearly obliterated by a history of impacts, leaving only a disintegrated remnant of the original rim. The surviving outer rim is not especially circular, having been reshaped into a somewhat pentagonal outline. There are deep gouges from cratering along the northeastern rim. The interior floor is not in much better shape, being rough and irregular.

To the northeast of this crater is a system of rilles that have the designation Rimae Maupertuis. These are considered to have formed through geological activity. Good seeing and a large telescope are required to observe these rilles.

[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 Maupertuis crater.

Maupertuis	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	50.6° N	24.7° W	14 km
B	51.3° N	26.7° W	6 km
C	50.2° N	24.0° W	11 km
K	49.3° N	25.0° W	6 km
L	51.3° N	29.2° W	6 km

[edit] References

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• 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. 
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• 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.