Magelhaens (lunar crater)

Magelhaens
Lunar Orbiter 4 image of Magelhaens (upper left) and Magelhaens A (lower right)
Coordinates 11°54′S 44°06′E / 11.9°S 44.1°E / -11.9; 44.1Coordinates: 11°54′S 44°06′E / 11.9°S 44.1°E / -11.9; 44.1
Diameter 41 km
Depth 2.0 km
Colongitude 316° at sunrise
Eponym Ferdinand Magellan
Oblique view facing south from Apollo 16
Magelhaens is just above center in this image taken by the crew of Apollo 8. Magelhaens A is left of center, and Goclenius is in foreground. NASA photo.

Magelhaens is a lunar impact crater that lies along the southwestern edge of the Mare Fecunditatis, in the eastern part of the Moon's near side. The crater name is the other spelling of Ferdinand Magellan who was a 16th-century Portuguese explorer and the first human to almost circumnavigate the Earth. It lies to the south-southwest of the crater Goclenius, about midway between Gutenberg to the northwest and Colombo to the southeast.

This crater has a somewhat slender and uneven outer rim that is only roughly circular. The slightly smaller satellite crater Magelhaens A is attached to the southeastern rim. Within the inner walls of Magelhaens, the interior floor has been resurfaced by basaltic lava, matching the same dark appearance as the lunar mare to the northeast. This floor is level and almost featureless.

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 Magelhaens.

Magelhaens Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 12.6° S 45.0° E 32 km

See also

References

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  • McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
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  • Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
  • Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.
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