Goclenius (crater)
Encyclopedia
Goclenius is a lunar
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 near the west edge of Mare Fecunditatis
Mare Fecunditatis
Mare Fecunditatis is a lunar mare which is 840 km in diameter. The Fecuditatis basin formed in the Pre-Nectarian epoch, while the basin material surrounding the mare is of the...

. It lies to the southeast of the lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...

-flooded crater Gutenberg
Gutenberg (crater)
Gutenberg is a lunar crater that lies along the west edge of Mare Fecunditatis, in the eastern part of the visible Moon. To the southeast is the crater Goclenius, and to the southeast are Magelhaens and Colombo...

, and north of Magelhaens
Magelhaens (lunar crater)
Magelhaens is a lunar crater that lies along the southwestern edge of the Mare Fecunditatis, in the eastern part of the Moon's near side. It lies to the south-southwest of the crater Goclenius, about midway between Gutenberg to the northwest and Colombo to the southeast.This crater has a somewhat...

. To the northwest is a parallel rille
Rille
Rille is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the lunar surface that resemble channels. Typically a rille can be up to several kilometers wide and hundreds of kilometers in length...

 system that follow a course toward the northwest, running for a length of up to 240 kilometers. This feature is named the Rimae Goclenius.

The rim of this crater is worn, distorted and irregular, having a somewhat egg-like outline. The crater floor has been covered in lava, and a rille cuts across the floor towards the northwest, in the same direction as the other members of the Rimae Goclenius. A similar rille lies across the floor of Gutenberg, and it is likely that these features were all formed at the same time, after the original craters were created.

There is a low central rise located to the northwest of the crater's mid-point.

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 Goclenius.
Goclenius Latitude Longitude Diameter
B 9.2° S 44.4° E 7 km
U 9.3° S 50.1° E 22 km


The following craters have been renamed by the IAU
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...

.
  • Goclenius A — See Ibn Battuta
    Ibn Battuta (crater)
    Ibn Battuta is a small lunar crater on the Mare Fecunditatis, a lunar mare in the eastern part of the Moon's near side. It lies to the southwest of the crater Lindbergh, and northeast of the prominent Goclenius....

    .
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK