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 depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...
that lies 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 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 ...
, just behind the southwestern limb. It lies to the south-southwest of the crater Arrhenius, and northwest of Pilâtre. Further to the south is the rugged terrain to the north of the walled plain Hausen.
This crater was named after French aeronaut
Jean-Pierre Blanchard
Jean-Pierre rançoisBlanchard (; 4 July 1753 – 7 March 1809) was a French inventor, best known as a pioneer of gas balloon flight, who distinguished himself in the conquest of the air in a balloon. Notable for his successful hydrogen balloo ...
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 1991. It was previously known as Arrhenius P.
The rim of Blanchard is worn and rounded, with a slight elongation along a northeastern direction. There is a break in the northwest rim. The two crater formations have nearly merged, and share the same interior floor. The remainder of the rim has several other breaks caused by impacts, particularly along the southeastern rim. The interior floor, although somewhat rough, does not contain a central peak or notable features.
This crater lies within the
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 ...