Playfair (lunar crater)

Playfair
	Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates	23.5°N 8.4°E
Diameter	47 km
Depth	2.9 km
Colongitude	302° at sunrise
Eponym	John Playfair

Playfair is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged southern highlands on the near side of the Moon. It was named after the Scottish geologist and mathematician John Playfair.[1] It lies along the eastern rim of the eroded satellite crater Playfair G, a formation that is almost twice the diameter of Playfair itself. Playfair is nearly due north of the crater Apianus, and to the southwest of the Abenezra–Azophi crater pair.

This crater is oval in shape, being slightly wider along the east–west axis. The rim is somewhat eroded, and tiny craterlets lie along the south and west rims. The interior floor is level and nearly featureless, with the only feature of the minor interest being a pair of tiny craterlets lying just to the east of the midpoint.

Playfair is a crater of Nectarian age.[2]

Satellite craters

Satellite craters, including the large Playfair G to the west of Playfair itself

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Playfair.

Playfair	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	22.3° S	6.9° E	21 km
B	23.2° S	7.6° E	6 km
C	24.3° S	8.0° E	5 km
D	24.3° S	8.8° E	5 km
E	21.7° S	8.9° E	6 km
F	21.9° S	8.1° E	5 km
G	24.2° S	6.7° E	94 km
H	23.3° S	8.5° E	4 km
J	24.3° S	9.3° E	4 km
K	23.3° S	9.8° E	4 km

References

"Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Playfair". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
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 9-4.

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.

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[1] "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Playfair". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved August 25, 2017.

[2] 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 9-4.