Baco (crater)
Encyclopedia
Baco is a lunar
impact crater
that lies in the rugged southern highlands on the near side of the Moon
. The rim and inner wall has been eroded and worn by countless minor impacts since the original formation of the crater. As a result any terraces have been worn smooth and the rim is overlaid by several tiny craterlets. The interior floor nearly flat, with no characteristic central peak at the mid-point and no small craters of significance.
There are several minor craters located in the surrounding terrain, including the satellite craters Baco A just to the south and Baco B to the northwest. Further to the north is the crater Breislak
, and equally distant to the northeast is Ideler
. Further to the west is Cuvier
, while Asclepi
lies to the southeast.
Although this crater was named for the Englishman
Roger Bacon
, it was actually chosen by the German
Mädler. Hence the crater name became modified from Bacon to Baco.
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
impact crater
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
that lies in the rugged southern highlands on the near side of the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. The rim and inner wall has been eroded and worn by countless minor impacts since the original formation of the crater. As a result any terraces have been worn smooth and the rim is overlaid by several tiny craterlets. The interior floor nearly flat, with no characteristic central peak at the mid-point and no small craters of significance.
There are several minor craters located in the surrounding terrain, including the satellite craters Baco A just to the south and Baco B to the northwest. Further to the north is the crater Breislak
Breislak (crater)
Breislak is a lunar crater that lies within one crater diameter north-northwest of the crater Baco, in the southern part of the Moon. To the north-northwest is the crater Barocius, and to the west lies Clairaut...
, and equally distant to the northeast is Ideler
Ideler (crater)
Ideler is a small lunar impact crater in the low southern latitudes of the Moon. This formation is visible from the Earth, but it appears somewhat foreshortened due to its location. The crater lies just to the northeast of the larger crater Baco, and west-northwest of the prominent Pitiscus...
. Further to the west is Cuvier
Cuvier (crater)
Cuvier is a lunar crater on the southern part of the Moon's near side. It is attached to the east-southeast rim of the unusually shaped formation Heraclitus. To the northeast is the crater Clairaut....
, while Asclepi
Asclepi (crater)
Asclepi is a heavily worn lunar crater that lies in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. The outer rim has been worn down and rounded by many millions of years of subsequent impacts, so that it is now nearly level with the surrounding terrain. As a result the crater is now little more than a...
lies to the southeast.
Although this crater was named for the Englishman
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon, O.F.M. , also known as Doctor Mirabilis , was an English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on the study of nature through empirical methods...
, it was actually chosen by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Mädler. Hence the crater name became modified from Bacon to Baco.
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 Baco.| Baco | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 52.8° S | 20.2° E | 39 km |
| B | 49.5° S | 16.6° E | 43 km |
| C | 50.8° S | 14.8° E | 14 km |
| D | 51.6° S | 16.4° E | 8 km |
| E | 52.9° S | 16.2° E | 28 km |
| F | 50.4° S | 17.7° E | 6 km |
| G | 54.4° S | 17.2° E | 9 km |
| H | 51.9° S | 18.9° E | 6 km |
| J | 54.7° S | 19.3° E | 19 km |
| K | 53.9° S | 17.6° E | 29 km |
| L | 49.5° S | 16.7° E | 7 km |
| M | 49.2° S | 18.0° E | 7 km |
| N | 50.8° S | 16.3° E | 23 km |
| O | 52.1° S | 19.9° E | 9 km |
| P | 50.8° S | 19.6° E | 5 km |
| Q | 52.3° S | 18.7° E | 20 km |
| R | 49.2° S | 21.0° E | 18 km |
| S | 49.4° S | 18.5° E | 18 km |
| T | 53.7° S | 19.8° E | 5 km |
| U | 52.4° S | 19.3° E | 6 km |
| W | 53.3° S | 21.1° E | 9 km |
| Z | 53.0° S | 15.0° E | 7 km |