Santos-Dumont (crater)
Encyclopedia
Santos-Dumont is a small 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...

 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 lies in the northern end of the Montes Apenninus
Montes Apenninus
Montes Apenninus are a rugged mountain range on the northern part of the Moon's near side. They are named after the Apennine Mountains in Italy....

 range at the eastern edge of the Mare Imbrium
Mare Imbrium
Mare Imbrium, Latin for "Sea of Showers" or "Sea of Rains", is a vast lunar mare filling a basin on Earth's Moon and one of the larger craters in the Solar System. Mare Imbrium was created when lava flooded the giant crater formed when a very large object hit the Moon long ago...

. This feature was previously designated Hadley B prior to being given a name 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...

. It is located about 30 kilometers to the northeast of Mons Hadley
Mons Hadley
Mons Hadley is a massif in the northern portion of the Montes Apenninus, a range in the northern hemisphere of the Moon. The selenographic coordinates of this peak are 26.5° N, 4.7° E. It has a height of 4.6 km and a maximum diameter of 25 km at the base.To the southwest of this mountain...

, a mountain massif
Massif
In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...

.

This crater is a circular, bowl-shaped formation that is situated atop a ridge in the Montes Apenninus. It is otherwise an unremarkable formation with no unusual features and little appearance of wear.

To the northwest of Santos-Dumont is a 90-km-wide system of 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...

s designated the Rimae Fresnel, being named for the Promontorium Fresnel that lies to the north of the crater. This last formation forms the northern end of the Montes Apenninus, and lies astride the gap that joins the Mare Imbrium to the west with the Mare Serenitatis
Mare Serenitatis
Mare Serenitatis is a lunar mare that sits just to the east of Mare Imbrium on the Moon.It is located within the Serenitatis basin, which is of the Nectarian epoch. The material surrounding the mare is of the Lower Imbrian epoch, while the mare material is of the Upper Imbrian epoch...

 to the east. To the southeast, in the valley past Mons Hadley, is the landing site of the Apollo 15
Apollo 15
Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the American Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous...

 mission.

This feature is named in honour of the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont
Alberto Santos-Dumont
Alberto Santos-Dumont , was a Brazilian early pioneer of aviation. The heir of a wealthy family of coffee producers, Santos Dumont dedicated himself to science studies in Paris, France, where he spent most of his adult life....

.
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