Desargues is an ancient

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 crater ...

that is located near the northern limb 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 ...

, on the western

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. It lies nearly due south of the crater Pascal, and southeast of Brianchon. The proximity of this crater to the limb means that it appears highly elongated due to foreshortening, and it is difficult to discern details from the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

. This formation has been significantly eroded and degraded with the passage of time, leaving a low, irregular rim that has been reshaped by subsequent impacts. The rim has a notable bulge to the northeast, and a lesser bulge along the southern rim. The later remains as an imprint of a

ghost crater A palimpsest , in planetary astronomy, is an ancient crater that has been degraded over time. They may also be referred to as "ghost craters", "degraded craters", "buried craters", or "pathological craters". Palimpsests have been identified on ...

in the surface that overlies the southern rim, and leaves a remnant of its northern rim in the crater floor. The bulge to the northeast has left a remnant of its origin in the crater floor, as a series of low hills extending from the north and southeast. These enclose the northeastern third of the floor, and are suggestive of an overlapping crater formation. This crater is overlain in turn by a pair of craters that lie across the eastern rim. The floor of the crater is level and has most likely been resurfaced by subsequent

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

flows, or by fallback and ejecta deposits. This wiped away much of the original structure of the interior, leaving ridges and traces where once lay crater rims. Other lesser craters intrude into the rim, with Desargues M forming a bulge into the southern rim and Desargues A overlying the northern rim.

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 Desargues.

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * Impact craters on the Moon {{Craters on the Moon: C-F