Secchi is a small

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 ...

formation on the northwest edge of

Mare Fecunditatis Mare Fecunditatis (Latin ''fēcunditātis'', the "Sea of Fecundity" or "Sea of Fertility") is a lunar mare in the eastern half of the visible Moon. The mare has a maximum diameter of 840 km. __NOTOC__ Description The Fecunditatis basin forme ...

. It was named after the 19th-century Italian astronomer

Angelo Secchi Angelo Secchi (; 28 June 1818 – 26 February 1878) was an Italian Catholic priest, astronomer from the Italian region of Emilia. He was director of the observatory at the Pontifical Gregorian University (then called the Roman College) for 28 y ...

. To the northeast is the crater Taruntius. The western rim is joined with a section of the minor

Montes Secchi Montes Secchi (Latin for "Secchi Mountains") is a minor range of lunar mountains located near the northwestern edge of Mare Fecunditatis. This roughly linear formation of low ridges grazes the northwestern outer rim of the crater Secchi, the for ...

range. The rim of this crater has been opened in the northern and southern ends, leaving two curved ridges facing each other across the crater floor. To the south is a pair of

rille Rille (German for 'groove') is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the surface of the Moon that resemble channels. The Latin term is ''rima'', plural ''rimae''. Typically, a rille can be several kilometers wid ...

s designated the Rimae Secchi. These lie near the edge of the

mare 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 ...

, and have a combined length of about 40 kilometers.

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 Secchi. File:Rima Messier 5042 med.jpg, Oblique view of Rima Messier from

Lunar Orbiter 5 Lunar Orbiter 5, the last of the "Lunar Orbiter series", was designed to take additional Apollo and Surveyor landing site photography and to take broad survey images of unphotographed parts of the Moon's far side. It was also equipped to collec ...

, also showing Secchi X above center and Secchi K at lower right File:AS10-29-4261 (47485368481).jpg, Oblique view of Secchi K satellite crater by

Apollo 10 Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was a human spaceflight, the fourth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, and the second (after Apollo8) to orbit the Moon. NASA described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing, and ...

. The double ray of Messier A crater is visible in the upper left. File:Secchi sattelite craters map.jpg, Satellite craters of Secchi

References

* * * * * * * * * * * {{Commonscat Impact craters on the Moon