Stefan (crater)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Crater characteristics | |
| Coordinates | 46.0° N, 108.3° W |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 125 km |
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 110° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Joseph Stefan |
Stefan is a lunar crater on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the northwestern limb. Attached to the western rim is the slightly smaller Wegener crater, and located close to the eastern rim is Rynin crater.
As with many craters of this size on the Moon, the outer rim has been worn by impact erosion and the edge and inner wall are generally pitted with small craterlets. The southern edge of the rim in particular has been damaged by impacts, and is overlaid by the satellite crater 'Stefan L'. This bowl-shaped crater lies at the center of a small ray system, which is indicative of a relatively young impact.
The interior floor of Stefan is a generally level surface that is marked by several impacts. The most notable is a ring-shaped crater rim projecting up through the southern half of the floor. Near the mid-point is a low hill, possibly the buried remnant of a central peak.
[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 Stefan crater.
| Stefan | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| L | 44.6° N | 107.7° W | 26 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.
