Vega is an eroded
lunar 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 southeastern 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 ...
. It lies on the near side and so can be viewed from the
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
. Less than one crater diameter to the east-southeast is the slightly smaller
Peirescius. About one and a half crater diameters to the west is the long
Vallis Rheita
Vallis Rheita is a linear valley on the near side of the Moon. It is located in the southeastern quadrant, and is oriented radially to Mare Nectaris. This valley appears to share a common origin with the Vallis Snellius to the northeast, as bot ...
.
This crater has been worn and eroded by a history of impacts. Vega B overlies the southern part of the southern floor and inner wall. The east-northeastern section of the rim is overlain by a merged pair of small craters. A cluster of small craters lies along the northwestern rim. The remainder of the outer rim is round-shouldered and marked by many tiny impacts. The southern part interior floor is partly overlaid by the outer rampart of Vega B. The remainder of the floor is relatively featureless except for a few tiny craters.
This feature is named after the
Slovenian mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
Jurij Vega (Georg Freiherr von Vega in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
).
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 Vega.
The estimated age of the crater is 69–70 million years old
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Impact craters on the Moon