Cassini (lunar Crater) on:
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Cassini is a
The walls of this crater are narrow and irregular in form but remain intact despite the lava flooding. Beyond the crater rim is a significant and irregular outer
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Cassini.
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 located in the Palus Nebularum, at the eastern end of Mare Imbrium
Mare Imbrium (Latin ''imbrium'', the "Sea of Showers" or "Sea of Rains", "Sea of Tears") is a vast lava plain within the Imbrium Basin on the Moon and is one of the larger craters in the Solar System. The Imbrium Basin formed from the colli ...
. The crater was named after astronomers Giovanni Cassini
Giovanni Domenico Cassini, also known as Jean-Dominique Cassini (8 June 1625 – 14 September 1712) was an Italian (naturalised French) mathematician, astronomer and engineer. Cassini was born in Perinaldo, near Imperia, at that time in the C ...
and Jacques Cassini
Jacques Cassini (18 February 1677 – 16 April 1756) was a French astronomer, son of the famous Italian astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini.
Cassini was born at the Paris Observatory. Admitted at the age of seventeen to membership of the French ...
. To the northeast is the Promontorium Agassiz
Promontorium Agassiz is a mountainous cape situated on the northeast margin of Mare Imbrium on the near side of the Moon. Its selenographic coordinates are 42.4° N, 1.77° E. It is located south of Promontorium Deville and Mons Blanc, northea ...
, the southern tip of the Montes Alpes
Montes Alpes is a mountain range in the northern part of the Moon's near side. It was named after the Alps in Europe; the name was confirmed by the International Astronomical Union in 1935. It lies between the selenographic coordinates latitudes ...
mountain range. South by south-east of Cassini is the crater Theaetetus. To the northwest is the lone peak Mons Piton
Mons Piton is an isolated lunar mountain that is located in the eastern part of the Mare Imbrium, to the north-northwest of the crater Aristillus. Due east of Mons Piton is the flooded crater Cassini, and to the west-northwest lies Piazzi ...
.
Description
The floor of Cassini is flooded, and is likely as old as the surroundingmare
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...
. The surface is peppered with a multitude of impacts, including a pair of significant craters contained entirely within the rim. Cassini A is the larger of these two, and it lies just north-east of the crater center. A hilly ridge area runs from this inner crater toward the south-east. Near the south-west rim of Cassini is the smaller crater Cassini B.
The walls of this crater are narrow and irregular in form but remain intact despite the lava flooding. Beyond the crater rim is a significant and irregular outer rampart
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...
.
For unknown reasons, this crater was omitted from early maps of the Moon. This crater is not of recent origin, however, so the omission was most likely an error on the part of the map-makers.
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 Cassini.
See also
*Cassini (Martian crater)
Cassini is a crater on Mars named in honour of the Italian astronomer Giovanni Cassini. The name was approved in 1973, by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature.
The crater measures approximat ...
References
* * * * * * * * * * * Impact craters on the MoonMoon
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 ...
{{Craters on the Moon: C-F