Van Gent 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 ...
that is located to the south-southeast of the larger crater
Konstantinov Konstantinov ( bg, Константинов, russian: Константинов) and Konstantinova (feminine; Константинова) is a common Slavic languages, Slavic surname that is derived from the baptismal name Konstantin and literally me ...
. About an equal distance to the east-southeast is
Spencer Jones and to the southeast is
Papaleksi.
This crater joins the satellite crater Van Gent X to the northwest to form a double crater. Van Gent also partly overlies what appears to be an older crater remnant to the southeast. This in turn is joined to Van Gent N, which is joined to Van Gent P along its southeastern side. The result is a crater chain of sorts, consisting of five craters forming an arc with the concave side facing to the west.
The rim of Van Gent is slightly distorted from a circle due to the craters with which it has formed. The rim edge is somewhat worn, and a small craterlet lies along the shared rim with Van Gent X. The interior is relatively featureless, marked only by a few tiny craterlets.
The crater is the final resting place of Chinese micro-satellite
Longjiang 2, which was crashed there in mid-2019.
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 Van Gent.
References
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Impact craters on the Moon