Bancroft (crater)

Bancroft
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates28°00′N 6°24′W / 28.0°N 6.4°W / 28.0; -6.4
Diameter12.50 km (7.77 mi)[1]
Depth0.5 km
Colongitude6° at sunrise
EponymWilder D. Bancroft
Oblique view from Apollo 15, facing north, showing the ridge in the crater floor

Bancroft is a small, bowl-shaped impact crater located to the southwest of Archimedes on the Mare Imbrium.[2][3] It has a clean, sharp rim with no indication of wear. There is a linear ridge in the center of its floor, which is unusual for a crater of 13 km diameter. A wide, shallow depression runs from the rim of Bancroft southeast to the Montes Archimedes. There are some clefts at the edge of the mare to the west and southwest of the crater. Two small craters nearly to the west are named Feuillée and Beer.[4][5]

This crater was named after American chemist Wilder D. Bancroft (1867–1953). Bancroft was previously identified as Archimedes A,[6] before being renamed by the IAU in 1976.[1][7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Bancroft". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ↑ Grego, Peter (2005). The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers' Observing Guides Series. London: Springer-Verlag. p. 150. ISBN 1-85233-748-6.
  3. ↑ Spain, D. (2009). "Archimedes". The Six-Inch Lunar Atlas. Astronomer's Pocket Field Guide. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-87610-8_28.
  4. ↑ Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  5. ↑ "LAC 41" (PDF). Gazeteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  6. ↑ Moore, Patrick; Rees, Robin (2014). Patrick Moore's Data Book of Astronomy (2 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-139-49522-6.
  7. ↑ Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
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