Buffon (crater)
Encyclopedia
Buffon is a lunar
crater
that is located on the southern hemisphere
on the far side of the Moon
. It lies a crater diameter south of the large walled plain Chebyshev
. To the northeast is the crater Langmuir
and to the southwest is Leavitt
. Buffon lies nearly at the mid-point between these formations.
This is a worn and eroded crater formation, with a circular rim that can still be traced through the rugged terrain but which is irregular and rounded due to a history of lesser impacts. The most notable of these is a tiny crater which lays across the northern rim and the satellite crater Buffon D which lies along the inner eastern wall. The interior floor, although generally level, is equally rugged and irregular, particularly in the eastern half.
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 on the southern hemisphere
Sphere
A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point...
on the far 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...
. It lies a crater diameter south of the large walled plain Chebyshev
Chebyshev (crater)
Chebyshev is a large lunar crater that lies in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. The somewhat smaller crater Langmuir is intruding into the east-southeastern rim of Chebyshev, forming a chain of large craters with Brouwer on Langmuir's eastern rim.The outer rim of this walled...
. To the northeast is the crater Langmuir
Langmuir (crater)
Langmuir is an impact crater on the Moon's far side. It is located in a region to the southwest of the Mare Orientale impact basin. Langmuir is bracketed between two larger craters, with Chebyshev to the west-northwest and Brouwer to the east. It partly overlaps the rims of these two craters,...
and to the southwest is Leavitt
Leavitt (crater)
Leavitt is a crater on the far side of the Moon. It is a moderately eroded crater, but only a few minor craterlets lie along the edge and interior. Most of these features lie within the northern half of the crater, but the largest lies along the southern inner wall. The crater has a low central...
. Buffon lies nearly at the mid-point between these formations.
This is a worn and eroded crater formation, with a circular rim that can still be traced through the rugged terrain but which is irregular and rounded due to a history of lesser impacts. The most notable of these is a tiny crater which lays across the northern rim and the satellite crater Buffon D which lies along the inner eastern wall. The interior floor, although generally level, is equally rugged and irregular, particularly in the eastern half.
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 Buffon.| Buffon | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| D | 40.2° S | 131.7° W | 20 km |
| H | 42.3° S | 128.5° W | 26 km |
| K | 46.3° S | 128.0° W | 18 km |
| V | 39.2° S | 137.1° W | 38 km |