Capuanus (crater)
Capuanus is a lunar impact crater that lies along the southern edge of the Palus Epidemiarum. It was named after Italian astronomer F. Capuano di Manfredonia.[1] The outer rim is eroded and indented by lesser crater impacts, with notches in the north, west, and southern parts of the rim. The interior floor has been resurfaced by basaltic lava, which is connected to the surrounding lunar mare by a narrow, crater-formed gap in the northern rim. Dotting the floor of the crater are a number of domes, which are believed to have formed through volcanic activity.
 Lunar Orbiter 4 image | |
| Coordinates | 34.1°S 26.7°W |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 60 km |
| Colongitude | 28° at sunrise |
| Eponym | F. Capuano di Manfredonia |
The rim reaches its maximum altitude along the western face, where it merges with ridges along the edge of the mare. To the northeast the rim dips down very close to the surface, and barely forms a curving ridge in the surface. The southeastern rim is overlaid by a pair of craters.
To the north of Capuanus is the western extreme of the wide rille named Rima Hesiodus, which runs to the east-northeast. To the west-northwest is the crater Ramsden, and between Capuanus and Ramsden lies a system of intersecting rilles named the Rimae Ramsden.
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 Capuanus.
| Capuanus | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 34.7° S | 25.6° W | 13 km |
| B | 34.3° S | 27.7° W | 11 km |
| C | 34.9° S | 25.3° W | 10 km |
| D | 36.4° S | 26.2° W | 22 km |
| E | 37.5° S | 27.1° W | 29 km |
| F | 36.9° S | 26.6° W | 8 km |
| H | 39.4° S | 27.2° W | 4 km |
| K | 37.9° S | 26.5° W | 9 km |
| L | 38.3° S | 26.3° W | 11 km |
| M | 37.5° S | 25.6° W | 7 km |
| P | 35.3° S | 28.3° W | 78 km |
References
- "Capuanus (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
- 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.
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- 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.
