Cleostratus (crater)

Cleostratus
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates60°24′N 77°00′W / 60.4°N 77.0°W / 60.4; -77.0
Diameter63.23 km (39.29 mi)[1]
Depth2.2 km (1.4 mi)
Colongitude78° at sunrise
EponymCleostratus

Cleostratus is a lunar impact crater near the northwest limb of the Moon. It lies to the northeast of the crater Xenophanes,[2] and west-southwest of the prominent Pythagoras.[3] From the Earth this crater appears highly elongated due to foreshortening.[4]

The rim of this crater has become soft-shouldered due to steady impact erosion, and the formation is now just a depression in the surface surrounded by an eroded rise. A pair of small craters lie across the southwest rim, forming part of a short chain of craters leading to the west. Along the crest of the southern rim is a linear ridge. The satellite crater Cleostratus E is attached to the northwest rim, and intrudes slightly into the inner wall. The interior floor of this crater is flat and nearly featureless, having only a few tiny craterlets marking the surface.[5]: 10 

This formation is named after Greek astronomer Cleostratus (unkn-c. 500 B.C.).[6][1] His name was included in the lunar nomenclature of the Italian astronomer Giovanni B. Riccioli in 1651.[7] Its designation was formally adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1935.[1]

Cleostratus (center) in a telescopic photograph

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 Cleostratus.[8]

Cleostratus[5]: 295  Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 62.7° N 77.3° W 35 km
E 60.9° N 79.6° W 21 km
F 61.5° N 80.4° W 50 km
H 61.2° N 81.9° W 13 km
J 61.3° N 83.8° W 20 km
K 62.0° N 81.1° W 17 km
L 62.2° N 79.3° W 11 km
M 61.5° N 74.9° W 9 km
N 60.6° N 73.1° W 4 km
P 59.6° N 72.9° W 7 km
R 58.9° N 72.9° W 6 km

The satellite feature A includes a permanently shadowed region where the sunlight never reaches.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Cleostratus". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ↑ Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
  3. ↑ "LAC 10" (PDF). Gazeteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 2026-02-28.
  4. ↑ Whitaker, E. A.; et al. (1963). Rectified Lunar Atlas: Supplement No. 2 to the Photographic Lunar Atlas. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Retrieved 2026-06-01. See Field 1.
  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. ↑ Iorio, Lorenzo (2026). Naming the Universe: An Etymological Dictionary of Physics, Mathematics and Space Sciences. Elsevier. p. 589. ISBN 978-0-443-45880-4.
  7. ↑ Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. p. 120, 211. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ McGovern, J. Andrew; et al. (March 2013). "Mapping and characterization of non-polar permanent shadows on the lunar surface". Icarus. 223 (1): 566–581. Bibcode:2013Icar..223..566M. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.10.018.

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.
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