Cardanus (crater)

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Cardanus
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates13°12′N 72°24′W / 13.2°N 72.4°W / 13.2; -72.4
Diameter49.57 km (30.80 mi)[1]
Depth1.3 km (0.81 mi)
Colongitude72° at sunrise
FormationUpper Imbrian[2]
EponymGerolamo Cardano

Cardanus is a lunar impact crater that is located in the western part of the Moon, in the western part of the Oceanus Procellarum. It is a crater of Upper (Late) Imbrian age.[2] The surface is rich in pyroxene and feldspathic minerals,[3] with the region showing a mixed mineralogy dominated by clinopyroxene and spinel.[4] Due to its location the crater appears very oval because of foreshortening, as it is viewed from an obtuse angle from Earth.[5]

Cardanus is distinctive for the 60-km long chain of craters, designated Catena Krafft,[6] that connect its northern rim with the crater Krafft to the north.[7] The two form a notable pair on the lunar surface.[8] The outer rim of Cardanus is sharp-edged and somewhat irregular, with a hummocky outer rampart and terraces along parts of the inner wall. This is a floor-fractured crater, showing a series of cracks in the surface.[9] The floor has several small craterlets across its surface, and it has a low ridge near the midpoint. The surface is somewhat irregular in the southwest, but nearly featureless elsewhere.[10]: 55 

To the southwest is the 120-km long rille designated Rima Cardanus,[6] a graben system in the mare that generally follows a northeasterly direction.[11] To the southeast, beyond the rille, is the small crater Galilaei. Southwest of Cardanus is Olbers. Ray material from Olbers A lies across Cardanus.[6]

This crater is named for Italian polymath Gerolamo Cardano (1501-1576).[1] His name was included in lunar nomenclature by Italian astronomer Giovanni Riccioli in 1651.[12] Its designation was officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1935.[1]

Satellite craters

Neighborhood of Cardanus and Krafft, showing 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 Cardanus.

Cardanus[10]: 294  Latitude Longitude Diameter
B 11.4° N 73.8° W 13 km
C 11.3° N 76.2° W 14 km
E 12.7° N 70.7° W 6 km
G 11.5° N 74.9° W 8 km
K 14.2° N 76.8° W 8 km
M 14.9° N 77.1° W 9 km
R 12.3° N 73.4° W 21 km

References

  1. "Cardanus". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. Wilhelms, Don E.; et al. (1987). The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office. See Table 11.2.
  3. Mukherjee, Saumitra; et al. (September 2022). "Characterisation of surface topography and mineralogy of Cardanus and Krafft craters in the western Procellarum region of Moon". Journal of Earth System Science. 131 (3). id. 181. Bibcode:2022JESS..131..181M. doi:10.1007/s12040-022-01928-8.
  4. Pundir, E. P.; et al. (March 2024). Mineralogical Characterization of Lunar Near Side Cardanus and Krafft Craters. 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, held 11-15 March, 2024 at The Woodlands, Texas/Virtual. LPI Contribution No. 3040. id. 1821. Bibcode:2024LPICo3040.1821P.
  5. 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 10.
  6. Grego, Peter (2005). The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers' Observing Guides Series. London: Springer-Verlag. p. 166. ISBN 1-85233-748-6.
  7. Fitz-Gerald, B. (February 2014). "Topography of the Alphonsus and Arzachel area of the Moon". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 124 (1): 22–28. Bibcode:2014JBAA..124...22F.
  8. Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. pp. 188–189. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
  9. Jozwiak, Lauren M.; et al. (November 2012). "Lunar floor-fractured craters: Classification, distribution, origin and implications for magmatism and shallow crustal structure". Journal of Geophysical Research. 117 (E11) E11005. Bibcode:2012JGRE..11711005J. doi:10.1029/2012JE004134. hdl:1721.1/85651.
  10. Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  11. Callihan, Melanie B.; Klimczak, Christian (April 2019). "Topographic expressions of lunar graben". Lithosphere. 11 (2): 294–305. Bibcode:2019Lsphe..11..294C. doi:10.1130/L1025.1.
  12. Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. pp. 60, 211. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.