Gay-Lussac (crater)
Encyclopedia
Gay-Lussac is a lunar
crater
located to the north of the prominent crater Copernicus
, in the southern foothills of the Montes Carpatus
range. The rim of the crater is slightly distorted, although generally circular. The inner floor is flat but rough, with no central peak. There are a pair of small craterlet depressions in the middle instead of a central peak. The associated crater Gay-Lussac A is nearly joined to the southeast rim.
To the southwest is a wide rille
named Rima Gay-Lussac. This is a nearly linear formation with curves at the end. It follows a 40-km-long line from the southwest to the northeast.
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...
located to the north of the prominent crater Copernicus
Copernicus (lunar crater)
Copernicus is a prominent lunar impact crater named after the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, located in eastern Oceanus Procellarum. It is estimated to be about 800 million years old, and typifies craters that formed during the Copernican period in that it has a prominent ray system.-...
, in the southern foothills of the Montes Carpatus
Montes Carpatus
Montes Carpatus is a mountain range that forms the southern edge of the Mare Imbrium on the Moon. The selenographic coordinates of this range are 14.5° N, 24.4° W, and the formation has an overall diameter of . They were named after the Carpathian Mountains in Central Europe.This rugged range...
range. The rim of the crater is slightly distorted, although generally circular. The inner floor is flat but rough, with no central peak. There are a pair of small craterlet depressions in the middle instead of a central peak. The associated crater Gay-Lussac A is nearly joined to the southeast rim.
To the southwest is a wide 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...
named Rima Gay-Lussac. This is a nearly linear formation with curves at the end. It follows a 40-km-long line from the southwest to the northeast.
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 Gay-Lussac.| Gay-Lussac | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 13.2° N | 20.4° W | 15 km |
| B | 16.2° N | 21.1° W | 3 km |
| C | 15.4° N | 22.5° W | 5 km |
| D | 14.6° N | 21.0° W | 5 km |
| F | 14.0° N | 19.6° W | 5 km |
| G | 13.8° N | 18.9° W | 5 km |
| H | 13.4° N | 23.2° W | 5 km |
| J | 11.7° N | 21.7° W | 3 km |
| N | 12.6° N | 20.9° W | 2 km |