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Letronne (crater)

Coordinates: 10°36′S 42°24′W / 10.6°S 42.4°W / -10.6; -42.4
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Letronne
Letronne from Apollo 16. NASA photo.
Coordinates10°36′S 42°24′W / 10.6°S 42.4°W / -10.6; -42.4
Diameter120 km
Depth1.0 km
Colongitude42° at sunrise
EponymJean-Antoine Letronne
Selenochromatic image about the crater area
Lunar Orbiter 4 image of Letronne. Note higher sun angle than the Apollo 16 image above.
Another view of eastern Letronne, from Apollo 16

Letronne is the lava-flooded remnant of a lunar impact crater. It was named after French archaeologist Jean-Antoine Letronne.[1] The northern part of the rim is completely missing, and opens into the Oceanus Procellarum, forming a bay along the southwestern shore. The formation is located to the northwest of the large crater Gassendi.To the west-southwest is the flooded crater Billy, and north-northwest lies the smaller Flamsteed.

The surviving rim of Letronne is now little more than a semi-circular series of ridges. The flooded, broken rim of Winthrop overlies the western wall. The rim is the most intact along the eastern stretch, forming a mountainous promontory into the mare. A small cluster of central rises lie at the midpoint of the crater. The wrinkle ridge Dorsa Rubey traverses the floor from north to south,[2] and outlines a portion of the missing rim. The crater floor is otherwise nearly smooth and relatively free of craterlets, with the exception of Letronne B near the southeast rim.

Letronne is one of the largest craters of Lower (Early) Imbrian age.[3]

Satellite craters

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

Letronne Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 12.1° S 39.1° W 7 km
B 11.2° S 41.2° W 5 km
C 10.7° S 38.5° W 4 km
F 9.2° S 46.1° W 8 km
G 12.7° S 46.5° W 10 km
H 12.6° S 46.0° W 4 km
K 14.5° S 43.6° W 5 km
L 14.3° S 44.3° W 5 km
M 12.0° S 44.1° W 3 km
N 12.3° S 39.8° W 4 km
T 12.5° S 42.6° W 3 km

The following craters have been renamed by the IAU.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Letronne (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ^ Map quadrangle LAC-75, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program
  3. ^ The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. By Don E. Wilhelms, John F. McCauley, and Newell J. Trask. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington: 1987. Table 10.2.