Brianchon (crater)
Encyclopedia
Brianchon is a lunar
crater
that is located along the northwestern limb of the Moon
. Due to its location, from the Earth
the crater is seen from the edge and its visibility is somewhat affected by libration
. Thus for a more detailed view, the crater must be viewed from orbit
.
This crater lies just to the west of the crater Pascal
, and Desargues
is to the southeast. To the south of Brianchon along the limb is the crater Cremona
, while Lindblad
lies to the southwest just on the far side of the Moon.
Brianchon has been worn and eroded by a history of impacts that followed its creation. The most prominent of these are a pair of craters that lie across the northern rim, and Brianchon B which intrudes slightly into the southern rim. Brianchon A forms an outward bulge in the rim to the northwest, but otherwise merges seamlessly into the crater formation. There is also a concentric crater formation intruding into the exterion of the southeastern rim. The remainder of the outer wall has been rounded, and is covered in a number of tiny craterlets.
The floor of the crater is relatively level, and is marked by a multitude of tiny craterlets. The most prominent of these is a small, bowl-shaped crater just to the northwest of the mid-point. The southern portion of the crater floor in particular contains a grouping of several tiny craterlets.
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...
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 is located along the northwestern limb 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...
. Due to its location, from the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
the crater is seen from the edge and its visibility is somewhat affected by libration
Libration
In astronomy, libration is an oscillating motion of orbiting bodies relative to each other, notably including the motion of the Moon relative to Earth, or of Trojan asteroids relative to planets.-Lunar libration:...
. Thus for a more detailed view, the crater must be viewed from orbit
Orbit
In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
.
This crater lies just to the west of the crater Pascal
Pascal (crater)
Pascal is a lunar crater that lies near the northern limb of the Moon, on the western side of the pole. It is located to the north of the eroded crater Desargues, and just east of Brianchon. Pascal can be located by finding the crater Carpenter and then following the surface to the northwest...
, and Desargues
Desargues (crater)
Desargues is an ancient lunar crater that is located near the northern limb of the Moon, on the western hemisphere. It lies nearly due south of the crater Pascal, and southeast of Brianchon...
is to the southeast. To the south of Brianchon along the limb is the crater Cremona
Cremona (crater)
Cremona is a lunar crater that is located long the north-northwestern limb of the Moon. From the Earth this crater is viewed from the side, and the visibility is affected by libration effects. To be viewed in any detail, this crater must be seen or photographed from orbit...
, while Lindblad
Lindblad (crater)
Lindblad is an old lunar crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the northwestern limb. This formation is located to the southeast of the crater Brianchon, and northeast of Cremona....
lies to the southwest just on the far side of the Moon.
Brianchon has been worn and eroded by a history of impacts that followed its creation. The most prominent of these are a pair of craters that lie across the northern rim, and Brianchon B which intrudes slightly into the southern rim. Brianchon A forms an outward bulge in the rim to the northwest, but otherwise merges seamlessly into the crater formation. There is also a concentric crater formation intruding into the exterion of the southeastern rim. The remainder of the outer wall has been rounded, and is covered in a number of tiny craterlets.
The floor of the crater is relatively level, and is marked by a multitude of tiny craterlets. The most prominent of these is a small, bowl-shaped crater just to the northwest of the mid-point. The southern portion of the crater floor in particular contains a grouping of several tiny craterlets.
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 Brianchon.| Brianchon | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 76.7° N | 86.3° W | 50 km |
| B | 72.2° N | 89.1° W | 31 km |
| T | 75.8° N | 99.8° W | 30 km |