Naonobu (crater)
Encyclopedia
Naonobu is a small lunar
impact crater
named after Japanese mathematician Ajima Naonobu. It is located on the eastern Mare Fecunditatis
, to the northwest of the prominent crater Langrenus
, and it forms a triple-crater formation with the adjacent Atwood
to the south and Bilharz
just to the southwest. Naonobu and Atwood are separated by only a few kilometres.
The interior of this crater has been flooded with basalt
ic lava
, leaving a relatively flat interior and a reduced outer rim. There is no central peak, but a tiny craterlet lies just to the southwest of the mid-point. A similar craterlet lies across the western interior of the rim.
This crater was previously designated Langrenus B before being renamed by the IAU
.
Moon
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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...
named after Japanese mathematician Ajima Naonobu. It is located on the eastern 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...
, to the northwest of the prominent crater Langrenus
Langrenus (crater)
Langrenus is a prominent impact crater located near the eastern lunar limb. The feature is circular in shape, but appears oblong due to foreshortening. It lies on the eastern shore of the Mare Fecunditatis...
, and it forms a triple-crater formation with the adjacent Atwood
Atwood (crater)
Atwood is a small lunar impact crater that is located on the Mare Fecunditatis, to the northwest of the prominent crater Langrenus. It forms a triple-crater formation with Naonobu attached to the north rim and Bilharz near the west rim. All three were satellite craters of Langrenus before being...
to the south and Bilharz
Bilharz (crater)
Bilharz is a lunar impact crater that lies in the eastern part of the Mare Fecunditatis. It is the largest member of a close triple-crater formation with Atwood to the east and Naonobu to the northeast. To the southeast is the prominent crater Langrenus....
just to the southwest. Naonobu and Atwood are separated by only a few kilometres.
The interior of this crater has been flooded with basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
ic 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...
, leaving a relatively flat interior and a reduced outer rim. There is no central peak, but a tiny craterlet lies just to the southwest of the mid-point. A similar craterlet lies across the western interior of the rim.
This crater was previously designated Langrenus B before being 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...
.