Das 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 ...

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 ...

. It is located to the north-west of the walled plain

Chebyshev Pafnuty Lvovich Chebyshev ( rus, Пафну́тий Льво́вич Чебышёв, p=pɐfˈnutʲɪj ˈlʲvovʲɪtɕ tɕɪbɨˈʂof) ( – ) was a Russian mathematician and considered to be the founding father of Russian mathematics. Chebyshe ...

. To the south-west of Das is the irregular crater Mariotte, and

Von der Pahlen The House of Pahlen (german: von der Pahlen; russian: link=no, Пален, Palen) is a German, Estonian, Russian, Lithuanian, Swedish and Baltic German noble family of Pomeranian origin. History The family probably originated from Pomerania, ...

lies to the east-northeast. The crater was named after Indian astronomer

Anil Kumar Das Anil Kumar Das FRAS, FNI (1 February 1902 - 18 February 1961) was an Indian scientist, astronomer. During the International Geophysical Year, observatories in Madrid, India, and Manila were responsible for monitoring solar effects. The Kodaikan ...

. This crater has a sharp-edged rim that is not overlaid by any craters of note. It is roughly circular in shape, with slight bulges to the west and northwest. The inner walls have slumped toward the uneven interior floor, leaving a steeper slope near the rim. This crater lies at the center of a faint

ray system A ray system comprises radial streaks of fine '' ejecta'' thrown out during the formation of an impact crater, looking somewhat like many thin spokes coming from the hub of a wheel. The rays may extend for lengths up to several times the diameter ...

. The higher

albedo Albedo (; ) is the measure of the diffuse reflection of sunlight, solar radiation out of the total solar radiation and measured on a scale from 0, corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation, to 1, corresponding to a body ...

ejecta is continuous out to a distance of nearly two crater diameters, then forms wispy rays particularly to the northwest. These rays may overlap a second system to the east-southeast. Due to its prominent rays, Das is mapped as part of the Copernican System.The geologic history of the Moon, 1987, Wilhelms, Don E.; with sections by McCauley, John F.; Trask, Newell J.

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

Professional Paper: 1348. Plate 11: Copernican System
online

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 Das.

References

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