Lauritsen 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 located just behind the east-southeastern 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 ...
. It is named for physicist
Charles Christian Lauritsen
Charles Christian Lauritsen (April 4, 1892 – April 13, 1968) was a Danish/American physicist.
Early life and career
Lauritsen was born in Holstebro, Denmark and studied architecture at the Odense Tekniske Skole, graduating in 1911. In 191 ...
. While it 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 ...
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 ...
, it is still possible to catch a glimpse of this area under favorable conditions of
libration
In lunar astronomy, libration is the wagging or wavering of the Moon perceived by Earth-bound observers and caused by changes in their perspective. It permits an observer to see slightly different hemispheres of the surface at different tim ...
and illumination. The crater is situated roughly equidistant from
Titius to the east and
Donner to the southeast, so that the three form an equilateral triangle. To the northwest is the walled plain
Curie
In computing, a CURIE (or ''Compact URI'') defines a generic, abbreviated syntax for expressing Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs). It is an abbreviated URI expressed in a compact syntax, and may be found in both XML and non-XML grammars. A CURIE ...
.
This is an eroded crater with an eastern rim that is almost completely overlain by smaller craters, including Lauritsen B along the northeast. There is a break in the rim to the north and a pair of small craters lies across the northwest rim. Along the southwest side the rim is indented slightly, resulting in a nearly straight length. At the midpoint of the crater is Lauritsen Y, with a smaller crater to its south-southeast.
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 Lauritsen.
References
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Impact craters on the Moon