Encke (crater)
Encyclopedia
Encke 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 on the western edge of the Mare Insularum
Mare Insularum
Mare Insularum is a lunar mare located in the Insularum basin just south of Mare Imbrium. The basin material is of the Lower Imbrian epoch, with the mare material of the Upper Imbrian epoch. The mare is bordered by the craters Copernicus on the east, and Kepler on the west...

, to the south-southeast of the crater Kepler
Kepler (lunar crater)
Kepler is a lunar impact crater that lies between the Oceanus Procellarum to the west and Mare Insularum in the east. To the southeast is the crater Encke....

. The small crater Kunowsky
Kunowsky (lunar crater)
Kunowsky is a small lunar crater on the Mare Insularum, in the western half of the Moon's near side. It lies about one third the distance from Encke to the west-northwest and Lansberg to the east-southeast....

 lies to the east-southeast on the mare
Lunar mare
The lunar maria are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. They were dubbed maria, Latin for "seas", by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas. They are less reflective than the "highlands" as a result of their iron-rich compositions, and...

.

The rim of Encke is low and somewhat 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 in shape. The tiny craterlet Encke N lies across the western rim. The floor is somewhat uneven, and is covered in ray material
Ray system
A ray system comprises radial streaks of fine ejecta thrown out during the formation of an impact crater, looking a bit like many thin spokes coming from the hub of a wheel. The rays can extend for lengths up to several times the diameter of their originating crater, and are often accompanied by...

from the nearby Kepler. The high albedo of this ejecta makes Encke a bright feature when the Sun is at a high elevation over the lunar surface.

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 Encke.
Encke Latitude Longitude Diameter
B 2.4° N 36.8° W 12 km
C 0.7° N 36.4° W 9 km
E 0.3° N 40.1° W 9 km
G 4.8° N 38.8° W 7 km
H 4.0° N 37.3° W 4 km
J 5.2° N 39.5° W 5 km
K 1.4° N 37.2° W 4 km
M 4.5° N 35.1° W 3 km
N 4.6° N 37.1° W 4 km
T 3.4° N 38.0° W 91 km
X 0.9° N 40.3° W 3 km
Y 5.9° N 36.4° W 3 km
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