Carnot is a large crater in the northern part of the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
's
far side. It was named after
Nicolas L. S. Carnot by the
IAU
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
in 1970.
The outer rim of Carnot has a somewhat hexagonal form, particularly in the southern half. The northern rim has an irregular inner wall, while the southern face is
terrace
Terrace may refer to:
Landforms and construction
* Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river
* Terrace, a street suffix
* Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...
d and has a sharper outer edge. There is some slumping along the rim edge to the southeast, producing outward bulges in the perimeter. The western inner wall is partly overlaid by three small, cup-shaped craters. Within the rim, the crater floor is flat and level, at least in comparison to the rugged terrain around the exterior. Just to the southeast of the crater midpoint is a central peak formation. The interior floor is marked by several small and numerous tiny craters. The most prominent of the craters on the floor is a small, shallow crater near the southern inner wall.
Carnot intrudes into the southern rim of the huge walled plain
Birkhoff. To the west-southwest of Carnot is the crater
Paraskevopoulos.
Carnot is a crater of
Nectarian
The Nectarian Period of the lunar geologic timescale was from 3.920 billion years ago to 3.850 billion years ago. It is the period during which the Nectaris Basin and other major basins were formed by large impact events. Ejecta from Nectaris for ...
age.
The geologic history of the Moon
USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...
Professional Paper 1348. By Don E. Wilhelms, John F. McCauley, and Newell J. Trask. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington: 1987. Table 9-4.
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 Carnot.
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Craters on the Moon: C-F
Impact craters on the Moon