Blanchard is a
lunar
Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon".
Lunar may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games
* "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta
* "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...
impact crater that lies on the
far side
''The Far Side'' is a single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Chronicle Features and then Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from December 31, 1979, to January 1, 1995 (when Larson retired as a cartoonist). Its surrealis ...
of the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
, just behind the southwestern limb. It lies to the south-southwest of the crater
Arrhenius, and northwest of
Pilâtre. Further to the south is the rugged terrain to the north of the walled plain
Hausen.
This crater was named after French aeronaut
Jean-Pierre Blanchard
Jean-Pierre rançoisBlanchard (4 July 1753 – 7 March 1809) was a French inventor, best known as a pioneer of gas balloon flight, who distinguished himself in the conquest of the air in a balloon, in particular the first crossing of the Englis ...
by the
IAU
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach ...
in 1991.
It was previously known as Arrhenius P.
The rim of Blanchard is worn and rounded, with a slight elongation along a northeastern direction. There is a break in the northwest rim. The two crater formations have nearly merged, and share the same interior floor. The remainder of the rim has several other breaks caused by impacts, particularly along the southeastern rim. The interior floor, although somewhat rough, does not contain a central peak or notable features.
This crater lies within the
Mendel-Rydberg Basin, a 630 km wide impact basin of
Nectarian
The Nectarian Period of the lunar geologic timescale runs from 3920 million years ago to 3850 million years ago. It is the period during which the Nectaris Basin and other major basins were formed by large impact events. Ejecta from Nectaris for ...
age.
References
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Impact craters on the Moon
{{Craters on the Moon: A–B