Lauritsen (crater)
Encyclopedia
Lauritsen is a lunar
crater
that is located just behind the east-southeastern limb of the Moon
. While it lies on the far side from the Earth
, it is still possible to catch a glimse of this area under favorable conditions of libration
and illumination. The crater is situated roughly equidistant from Titius
to the east and Donner
to the southeast, so that the three form an equilateral triangle. To the northwest is the walled plain Curie
.
This is an eroded crater with an eastern rim that is almost completely overlain by smaller craters, including Lauritsen B along the northeast. There is a break in the rim to the north and a pair of small craters lies across the northwest rim. Along the southwest side the rim is indented slightly, resulting in a nearly straight length. At the mid-point of the crater is Lauritsen Y, with a smaller crater to its south-southeast.
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 just behind the east-southeastern 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...
. While it lies on the far side 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...
, it is still possible to catch a glimse of this area under favorable conditions of 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:...
and illumination. The crater is situated roughly equidistant from Titius
Titius (crater)
Titius is a lunar crater that is located on the Moon's far side, beyond the eastern limb. It lies to the west of the Lacus Solitudinis, a small lunar mare...
to the east and Donner
Donner (crater)
Donner is a lunar crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located just to the northeast of the Mare Australe, behind the southeastern limb of the Moon...
to the southeast, so that the three form an equilateral triangle. To the northwest is the walled plain Curie
Curie (lunar crater)
Curie is a large lunar crater, much of which lies on the far side of the Moon as seen from the Earth. The western rim projects into the near side of the Moon, as defined by the selenographic coordinate system...
.
This is an eroded crater with an eastern rim that is almost completely overlain by smaller craters, including Lauritsen B along the northeast. There is a break in the rim to the north and a pair of small craters lies across the northwest rim. Along the southwest side the rim is indented slightly, resulting in a nearly straight length. At the mid-point of the crater is Lauritsen Y, with a smaller crater to its south-southeast.
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 Lauritsen.| Lauritsen | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 24.8° S | 96.6° E | 35 km |
| B | 26.7° S | 96.8° E | 26 km |
| G | 28.0° S | 97.3° E | 16 km |
| H | 28.5° S | 97.5° E | 28 km |
| Y | 27.5° S | 96.1° E | 14 km |
| Z | 26.0° S | 96.2° E | 52 km |