Cavendish (crater)

Cavendish
Cavendish crater image
Coordinates24°30′S 53°42′W / 24.5°S 53.7°W / -24.5; -53.7
Diameter52.64 km (32.71 mi)[1]
Depth2.4 km (1.5 mi)
Colongitude54° at sunrise
EponymHenry Cavendish

Cavendish is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southwest part of the Moon,[2] to the southwest of the larger crater Mersenius. It lies between the smaller craters Henry to the west-northwest and de Gasparis to the east-southeast.[3]

The rim of Cavendish is heavily worn and the crater Cavendish E lies across the southwest rim. The smaller Cavendish A is intruding into the northeast rim. On the floor appear a pair of ruined craters that are joined at their low rims and span most of the central Cavendish crater floor from east to west.[4][5]: 92 

A rille from the Rimae de Gasparis reaches the eastern rim of Cavendish.[4]

The crater only has one report of a transient lunar phenomenon.[6] On January 24, 1965, two observers independently reported intermittent flashes coming from the west wall, which at the time was just inside the terminator. The pattern began with a bright glare that continued for three minutes. The flashing then continued for over 20 hours before fading.[7]

This crater is named after English chemist and physicist Henry Cavendish (1731–1810), who is known for his discovery of hydrogen. His name was added to lunar nomenclature by German astronomer J. H. von Mädler in 1834.[8] The designation was made official when it was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1935.[1]

Satellite craters

Satellite features of Cavendish

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Cavendish.[9]

Cavendish[5]: 295  Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 24.0° S 52.7° W 10 km
B 23.2° S 55.1° W 10 km
E 25.4° S 54.2° W 24 km
F 26.1° S 54.0° W 18 km
L 21.7° S 53.6° W 5 km
M 22.0° S 53.8° W 6 km
N 22.1° S 54.3° W 4 km
P 24.2° S 51.6° W 4 km
S 23.8° S 52.4° W 5 km
T 24.8° S 55.2° W 4 km

References

  1. 1 2 "Cavendish". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ↑ Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
  3. ↑ "LAC 92" (PDF). Gazeteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
  4. 1 2 Grego, Peter (2005). The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers' Observing Guides. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-84628-243-0.
  5. 1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  6. ↑ Crotts, Arlin P. S. (November 2008). "Lunar Outgassing, Transient Phenomena, and the Return to the Moon. I. Existing Data". The Astrophysical Journal. 687 (1): 692–705. arXiv:0706.3949. Bibcode:2008ApJ...687..692C. doi:10.1086/591634.
  7. ↑ Haas, Walter H. (June 2003). "Those unnumbered reports of lunar changes - Were they all blunders?". Journal of the Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers, The Strolling Astronomer (ISSN 0039-2502). 45 (2): 25–33. Bibcode:2003JALPO..45b..25H.
  8. ↑ Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. pp. 120, 220. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  9. ↑ 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.
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