Maupertuis (crater)

Maupertuis (crater)

Coordinates	49°36′N 27°18′W / 49.6°N 27.3°W / 49.6; -27.3Coordinates: 49°36′N 27°18′W / 49.6°N 27.3°W / 49.6; -27.3
Diameter	45 km
Depth	1.5 km
Colongitude	28° at sunrise
Eponym	Pierre L. de Maupertuis

Maupertuis is the remnant of a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern part of the Moon's near side. It lies in the stretch of rugged terrain north of Sinus Iridum, a bay in the northwestern corner of Mare Imbrium. To the north lies the crater La Condamine, and Mare Frigoris.

This is a crater that has been nearly obliterated by a history of impacts, leaving only a disintegrated remnant of the original rim. The surviving outer rim is not especially circular, having been reshaped into a somewhat pentagonal outline. There are deep gouges from cratering along the northeastern rim. The interior floor is not in much better shape, being rough and irregular.

To the northeast of this crater is a system of rilles designated Rimae Maupertuis. These are considered to have formed through geological activity. Good eyesight and a large telescope are required to observe these rilles.

The crater was named for the French mathemetician and astronomer Pierre Louis Maupertuis (1698 – 1759).^[1]

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 Maupertuis.

Maupertuis	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	50.6° N	24.7° W	14 km
B	51.3° N	26.7° W	6 km
C	50.2° N	24.0° W	11 km
K	49.3° N	25.0° W	6 km
L	51.3° N	29.2° W	6 km

References

1. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D.; International Astronomical Union (2003). Dictionary of minor planet names. Berlin; New York: Springer-Verlag. p. 273. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=KWrB1jPCa8AC&pg=PA273. Retrieved 9 September 2011. 

Lunar crater references

• Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A., (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097. 
• Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/. Retrieved 2007-08-05. 
• Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81528-2. 
• Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 0-936389-27-3. 
• McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. http://host.planet4589.org/astro/lunar/. Retrieved 2007-10-24. 
• Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode 1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763.  edit
• Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 0-304-35469-4. 
• Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-33500-0. 
• Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-913135-17-8. 
• Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revision ed.). Dover. ISBN 0-486-20917-2. 
• Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62248-4. 
• Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 1-85233-193-3.