Stöfler (crater)
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| Crater characteristics | |
| Coordinates | 41.1° S, 6.0° E |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 126 km |
| Depth | 2.8 km |
| Colongitude | 354° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Johannes Stöffler |
Stöfler is a large lunar impact crater located in the crater-riddled southern highlands, named for Johannes Stöffler. It sits to the west of Maurolycus crater. The distorted Fernelius crater is attached to the northern rim, and Miller and Nasireddin craters lie to the west. The Faraday crater has overlain and damaged the western rim, and this crater in turn has been overlaid by several smaller craters.
The rim of Stöfler is worn and eroded, but the outline remains relatively intact except where overlain by Faraday. The smaller 'Stöfler K' intrudes into the northwest rim, and 'Stöfler F' forms an indentation into the base of the southwest interior wall.
The crater floor has been filled in with deposits, either from lava flows or ejecta from basin impacts, and is relatively flat and featureless in the northwest half. If there was a central peak, it has now become buried. The floor has a low albedo, making the crater relatively easy to identify as it is one of the few craters in this region of the lunar surface that have a dark floor. Traces of bright ray material from Tycho crater, located to the west, can been seen across the floor.
[edit] Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Stöfler crater.
| Stöfler | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| D | 43.8° S | 4.3° E | 54 km |
| E | 43.8° S | 5.8° E | 16 km |
| F | 42.7° S | 4.9° E | 18 km |
| G | 43.4° S | 2.0° E | 20 km |
| H | 40.3° S | 1.7° E | 27 km |
| J | 42.2° S | 2.4° E | 76 km |
| K | 39.4° S | 4.2° E | 19 km |
| L | 39.1° S | 7.8° E | 17 km |
| M | 41.0° S | 8.1° E | 9 km |
| N | 41.9° S | 6.6° E | 14 km |
| O | 43.3° S | 1.3° E | 9 km |
| P | 43.2° S | 7.3° E | 33 km |
| R | 42.2° S | 1.8° E | 6 km |
| S | 44.9° S | 5.8° E | 9 km |
| T | 39.7° S | 8.2° E | 5 km |
| U | 40.1° S | 9.6° E | 5 km |
| X | 40.5° S | 5.5° E | 3 km |
| Y | 39.9° S | 5.5° E | 3 km |
| Z | 40.3° S | 3.2° E | 4 km |
[edit] References
- Wood, Chuck (October 16, 2007). 6 Degrees of Separation. Lunar Photo of the Day. Retrieved on 2007-10-16.
- Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A., (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
- Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
- Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81528-2.
- Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 0-936389-27-3.
- McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). Lunar Nomenclature. Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved on 2007-10-24.
- Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by The Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews 12: 136.
- Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co.. ISBN 0-304-35469-4.
- Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521335000.
- Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-913135-17-8.
- Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, 6th revision, Dover. ISBN 0-486-20917-2.
- Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62248-4.
- Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 1852331933.
