Blanchinus 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 An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...

that is situated in the rugged south-central highlands 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 ...

. The crater is named after Italian astronomer

Giovanni Bianchini Giovanni Bianchini (in Latin, Johannes Blanchinus) (1410 – c. 1469) was a professor of mathematics and astronomy at the University of Ferrara and court astrologer of Leonello d'Este. He was an associate of Georg Purbach and Regiomontanus. ...

whose Latinized name is Blanchinus. Adjacent to the south of Blanchinus is the crater Werner, and

La Caille Abbé Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille (; 15 March 171321 March 1762), formerly sometimes spelled de la Caille, was a French astronomer and geodesist who named 14 out of the 88 constellations. From 1750 to 1754, he studied the sky at the Cape of Goo ...

is attached to the northwest rim. West of the crater is the prominent formation Purbach. The outer rim of Blanchinus has been significantly degraded by subsequent impacts, leaving an irregular, notched exterior ring of rugged hills and ridges. The inner floor, in contrast, is nearly flat and free of significant impacts. Only a few tiny craterlets mark the interior surface, with Blanchinus M located near the midpoint and the remainder lie near the southwest rim. For a few hours before the first quarter, the crater's rim contributes the lunar x visual phenomenon.

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Blanchinus.

References

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External links

* {{Craters on the Moon: A–B Impact craters on the Moon