Herigonius is a small

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 is located in the southern part of the

Oceanus Procellarum Oceanus Procellarum ( ; from ) is a vast lunar mare on the western edge of the near side of the Moon. It is the only one of the lunar maria to be called an "Oceanus" (ocean), due to its size: Oceanus Procellarum is the largest of the maria ("s ...

, to the northeast of the crater Gassendi. It was named after French mathematician and astronomer

Pierre Hérigone Pierre Hérigone (Latinized as Petrus Herigonius) (1580–1643) was a French mathematician and astronomer. Of Basque origin, Hérigone taught in Paris for most of his life. Works Only one work by Hérigone is known to exist: ''Cursus mathematicu ...

. Herigonius is roughly circular, with an inward bulge and narrower inner wall along the northeast. In the interior of the sloping inner walls is a floor about half the diameter of the crater. About 60 kilometers to the west of Herigonius is a sinuous

rille Rille (German for 'groove') is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the surface of the Moon that resemble channels. The Latin term is ''rima'', plural ''rimae''. Typically, a rille can be several kilometers w ...

designated Rimae Herigonius. This cleft is about 100 kilometers in length and runs generally in a north–south direction, while curving to the east at the north end. Two mountains within a highland mass informally called "The Helmet" (by the

Apollo 16 Apollo 16 (April 1627, 1972) was the tenth human spaceflight, crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, Apollo space program, administered by NASA, and the fifth and penultimate to Moon landing, land on the Moon. It was the second o ...

crew) are informally named Herigonius Eta (η) and Herigonius Pi (π). Eta is the larger mountain on the northern edge of the Helmet, and Pi is along the southwest edge. North and northwest of the crater is the

wrinkle ridge A wrinkle ridge is a type of feature commonly found on lunar maria, or basalt plains. These features are low, sinuous ridges formed on the mare surface that can extend for up to several hundred kilometers. Wrinkle ridges are tectonic features ...

Dorsa Ewing Dorsa Ewing is a wrinkle ridge at in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon. It is 262 km long and was named after American geophysicist William Maurice Ewing. References {{moon-stub Ewing Ewing may refer to: People * Ewing (surname) * Ewing (give ...

, which also contacts Rimae Herigonius. Image:Herigonius_crater_AS16-119-19156.jpg, Oblique image also from Apollo 16 File:Herigonius - LROC - WAC.JPG, Regional map Image:Rimae Herigonius AS16-M-2990.jpg, Most of the Rimae Herigonius and Herigonius K crater (below center). The rimae (rilles) extend to the south out of the picture.

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 Herigonius.

References

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External links

Herigonius K Impact Melt Flow
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Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in an eccentric Polar orbit, polar mapping orbit. Data collected by LRO have been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic ...

page with images Impact craters on the Moon