Censorinus crater west rim boulders 5063 h2

Censorinus is a tiny lunar

impact crater An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact crater ...

located on a rise to the southeast of the

Mare Tranquillitatis Mare Tranquillitatis ( Latin ''tranquillitātis'', the Sea of Tranquillity or Sea of Tranquility; see spelling differences) is a lunar mare that sits within the Tranquillitatis basin on the Moon. It is the first location on another world to ...

. It is named after the

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

writer

Censorinus Censorinus was a Roman grammarian and miscellaneous writer from the 3rd century AD. Biography He was the author of a lost work ''De Accentibus'' and of an extant treatise ''De Die Natali'', written in 238, and dedicated to his patron Quintus ...

. To the northeast is the crater Maskelyne. Censorinus is distinguished by an area of high-

albedo Albedo (; ) is the measure of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation out of the total solar radiation and measured on a scale from 0, corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation, to 1, corresponding to a body that refl ...

material surrounding the rim. This makes the feature highly prominent when the Sun is at a high angle, and it is one of the brightest objects on the visible

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

. Bright streaks radiate away radially from the crater, and contrast with the darker

lunar mare The lunar maria (; singular: mare ) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient asteroid impacts on the far side on the Moon that triggered volcanic activity on the opposite (near) side. They were dubbed , Latin for 'seas' ...

. This formation has a sharp-edged, raised rim and a symmetrical, cup-shaped interior. Close-up photographs of this crater by

Lunar Orbiter 5 Lunar Orbiter 5, the last of the " Lunar Orbiter series", was designed to take additional Apollo and Surveyor landing site photography and to take broad survey images of unphotographed parts of the Moon's far side. It was also equipped to colle ...

show many large blocks lying along the sloping outer

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

. The surface near the crater is hummocky from the deposited

ejecta Ejecta (from the Latin: "things thrown out", singular ejectum) are particles ejected from an area. In volcanology, in particular, the term refers to particles including pyroclastic materials ( tephra) that came out of a volcanic explosion and magm ...

. The crater is otherwise undistinguished. The vicinity of Censorinus was once considered for an early

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

landing site. El-Baz, Farouk, 1968. ''Geologoic Characteristics of the Nine Lunar Landing Mission Sites Recommended by the Group for Lunar Exploration Planing''. Bellcomm, Inc. TR-68-340-1.

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 Censorinus. The following craters have been renamed by the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach ...

. * Censorinus F — ''See''

Leakey (crater) Leakey is a small, undistinguished lunar impact crater that is located in an area of rough terrain in the eastern part of the Moon. It was named after British archaeologist Louis Leakey. The immediate area is not notable for crater features, a ...

. Censorinus C crater AS16-P-4502.jpg, Censorinus E

References

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* Lunar Photo of the Day,
Land of Manna
, October 5, 2006, showing Censorinus, and Censorius C, noted as similar to Gaudibert crater Impact craters on the Moon {{Craters on the Moon: C-F