Buffon (crater)

Buffon
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image of most of Buffon
(white triangle is blemish on original)
Coordinates40°24′S 133°24′W / 40.4°S 133.4°W / -40.4; -133.4
Diameter105.76 km (65.72 mi)[1]
DepthUnknown
Colongitude135° at sunrise
FormationNectarian[2]
EponymComte de Buffon
Satellite features of Buffon
Another oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 view

Buffon is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon.[2] It lies a crater diameter south of the large walled plain called Chebyshev. To the northeast is the crater Langmuir and to the southwest is Leavitt. Buffon lies nearly at the midpoint between these formations.

This formation dates to the Nectarian period on the lunar geologic timescale.[2] It is a worn and eroded crater, with a circular rim that can still be traced through the rugged terrain but which is irregular and rounded due to a history of lesser impacts. The most notable of these is a tiny crater which lies across the northern rim and the satellite crater Buffon D which lies along the inner eastern wall. The interior floor, although generally level, is equally rugged and irregular, particularly in the eastern half.[3]: 122  The infrared spectrum of pure crystalline plagioclase has been identified on the central peak and the east and southwest floor.[4]

This crater was named after French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788).[5] Its designation was officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1970.[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 Buffon.[6]

Buffon[3]: 294  Latitude Longitude Diameter
D 40.2° S 131.7° W 20 km
H 42.3° S 128.5° W 26 km
K 46.3° S 128.0° W 18 km
V 39.2° S 137.1° W 38 km

References

  1. 1 2 "Buffon". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. 1 2 3 Byrne, Charles J. (2008). The Far Side of the Moon. Springer. p. 153. ISBN 978-1-4899-8806-5.
  3. 1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  4. ↑ Donaldson Hanna, K. L.; et al. (July 2014). "Global assessment of pure crystalline plagioclase across the Moon and implications for the evolution of the primary crust". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 119 (7): 1516–1545. Bibcode:2014JGRE..119.1516D. doi:10.1002/2013JE004476.
  5. ↑ Menzel, D. H.; et al. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID 122125855.
  6. ↑ Grego, P. (2015). "Satellite Crater". In Hargitai, H.; Kereszturi, Á. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_328.

Sources

  • Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
  • Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.
  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Buffon (crater) at Wikimedia Commons
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