Encke (crater)

Encke

Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates	4.6°N 36.6°W / 4.6; -36.6
Diameter	28 km
Depth	0.8 km
Colongitude	37° at sunrise
Eponym	Johann F. Encke

The crater area in a Selenochromatic Image (Si)

Oblique view from Apollo 12

Encke is a lunar impact crater that is located on the western edge of the Mare Insularum, to the south-southeast of the crater Kepler. The small crater Kunowsky lies to the east-southeast on the mare.

The crater is named after German mathematician and astronomer Johann Franz Encke.

The rim of Encke is low and somewhat polygonal in shape. The tiny craterlet Encke N lies across the western rim. The floor is somewhat uneven, and is covered in ray material from the nearby Kepler. The high albedo of this ejecta makes Encke a bright feature when the Sun is at a high elevation over the lunar surface.

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 Encke.

Encke	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
B	2.4° N	36.8° W	12 km
C	0.7° N	36.4° W	9 km
E	0.3° N	40.1° W	9 km
G	4.8° N	38.8° W	7 km
H	4.0° N	37.3° W	4 km
J	5.2° N	39.5° W	5 km
K	1.4° N	37.2° W	4 km
M	4.5° N	35.1° W	3 km
N	4.6° N	37.1° W	4 km
T	3.4° N	38.0° W	91 km
X	0.9° N	40.3° W	3 km
Y	5.9° N	36.4° W	3 km

• 
  High-resolution Lunar Orbiter 1 image of Encke C
• 
  Apollo 12 image of Encke C
• 
  Apollo 12 image of Encke E
• 
  Apollo 12 image of Encke X, with its bright ray system

External links

• Lunar Orbiter 1 sequence of images 153, 154, 155, and 156, showing Encke C and vicinity

References

• Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
• Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
• Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
• McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 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 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID 122125855.
• Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
• 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.
• 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.