Maupertuis (crater)

Maupertuis is the remnant of a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern part of the Moon's near side. It lies in the stretch of rugged terrain north of Sinus Iridum, a bay in the northwestern corner of Mare Imbrium. To the north lies the crater La Condamine, and Mare Frigoris.

Maupertuis

Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates	49°36′N 27°18′W / 49.6°N 27.3°W / 49.6; -27.3
Diameter	45.49 km
Depth	1.5 km
Colongitude	28° at sunrise
Eponym	Pierre Louis Maupertuis

This is a crater that has been nearly obliterated by a history of impacts, leaving only a disintegrated remnant of the original rim. The surviving outer rim is not especially circular, having been reshaped into a somewhat pentagonal outline. There are deep gouges from cratering along the northeastern rim. The interior floor is not in much better shape, being rough and irregular.

To the northeast of this crater is a system of rilles designated Rimae Maupertuis.^[1] These are considered to have formed through geological activity. Good eyesight and a large telescope are required to observe these rilles.

The crater was named for the French mathematician and astronomer Pierre Louis Maupertuis (1698–1759).^[2][3]

Maupertuis is a crater of Lower (Early) Imbrian age.^[4]

Satellite craters

 

Maupertuis and its satellite craters

Maupertuis	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter	Ref
A	50.6° N	24.7° W	13.91 km	WGPSN
B	51.3° N	26.7° W	6.07 km	WGPSN
C	50.2° N	24.0° W	10.47 km	WGPSN
K	49.3° N	25.0° W	5.28 km	WGPSN
L	51.3° N	29.2° W	6.21 km	WGPSN

See also

• Asteroid 3281 Maupertuis

References

1. "Rimae Maupertuis". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
2. "Maupertuis (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
3. Schmadel, Lutz D.; International Astronomical Union (2003). Dictionary of minor planet names. Berlin; New York: Springer-Verlag. p. 273. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
4. The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. By Don E. Wilhelms, John F. McCauley, and Newell J. Trask. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington: 1987. Table 10.2.

Further reading

• Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
• Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
• Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
• McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
• Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID 122125855.
• Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
• Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
• Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
• Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
• Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
• Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maupertuis (crater).

• "Maupertuis". Gazeteer of Planetary Nomenclature. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 12 September 2017.