Lemaître (crater)
Encyclopedia
Lemaître is a lunar
impact crater
that is located on the southern hemisphere
on the far side of the Moon
. It lies to the south of the older crater Minkowski
, and north of Crommelin
. To the east-southeast lies the crater Eijkman
.
The outer rim of Lemaître remains well-defined, although it has become eroded and rounded by a history of minor impacts. The rim is generally circular, but it has a polygon
al, angular outline, particularly in the southeastern half. For much of circumference, the inner wall consists of a rim that slopes down to a slumped terrace, which then slopes down more gently to the interior floor.
There are a few tiny craterlets lying along the rim of Lemaître, especially in the west and the southeast. The most notable of these craterlets is a small, bowl-shaped crater that is attached to the southwestern rim.
The floor of the crater is generally flat, but contains a prominent crater Lemaître F along the eastern inner wall. This crater is also somewhat angular in shape, especially in the parts that are not concentric with the inner wall. The remainder of the floor is marked with a few tiny craterlets, the largest of which is adjacent to the western interior wall.
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 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 to the south of the older crater Minkowski
Minkowski (crater)
Minkowski is a lunar crater on the far side of the Moon, in the lower latitudes of the southern hemisphere. It lies about one crater diameter to the north-northeast of Lemaître, a formation of similar dimension...
, and north of Crommelin
Crommelin (lunar crater)
Crommelin is an ancient lunar crater that is located in the vicinity of the south pole of the Moon, on the far side. It lies to the north of the large crater Zeeman, and to the east-northeast of Numerov....
. To the east-southeast lies the crater Eijkman
Eijkman (crater)
Eijkman is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon's southern hemisphere. It lies about a half crater diameter to the southeast of the larger crater Lemaître. To the south-southwest is the crater Crommelin, and to the northeast is Fizeau.The rim of this crater is...
.
The outer rim of Lemaître remains well-defined, although it has become eroded and rounded by a history of minor impacts. The rim is generally circular, but it has a polygon
Polygon
In geometry a polygon is a flat shape consisting of straight lines that are joined to form a closed chain orcircuit.A polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments...
al, angular outline, particularly in the southeastern half. For much of circumference, the inner wall consists of a rim that slopes down to a slumped terrace, which then slopes down more gently to the interior floor.
There are a few tiny craterlets lying along the rim of Lemaître, especially in the west and the southeast. The most notable of these craterlets is a small, bowl-shaped crater that is attached to the southwestern rim.
The floor of the crater is generally flat, but contains a prominent crater Lemaître F along the eastern inner wall. This crater is also somewhat angular in shape, especially in the parts that are not concentric with the inner wall. The remainder of the floor is marked with a few tiny craterlets, the largest of which is adjacent to the western interior wall.
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 Lemaître.| Lemaître | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | 59.4° S | 145.6° W | 27 km |
| F | 61.4° S | 148.4° W | 32 km |
| S | 61.6° S | 156.3° W | 34 km |