Vega (crater)

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This article is about the crater. For other uses, see Vega (disambiguation).
Vega
Vega crater 4052 h2.jpg
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates45°24′S 63°24′E / 45.4°S 63.4°E / -45.4; 63.4Coordinates: 45°24′S 63°24′E / 45.4°S 63.4°E / -45.4; 63.4
Diameter76 km
Depth2.9 km
Colongitude298° at sunrise
EponymGeorg F. Von Vega

Vega is an eroded lunar impact crater that is located in the southeastern part of the Moon. It lies on the near side and so can be viewed from the Earth. Less than one crater diameter to the east-southeast is the slightly smaller Peirescius. About one and a half crater diameters to the west is the long Vallis Rheita.

This crater has been worn and eroded by a history of impacts. Vega B overlies the southern part of the southern floor and inner wall. The east-northeastern section of the rim is overlain by a merged pair of small craters. A cluster of small craters lies along the northwestern rim. The remainder of the outer rim is round-shouldered and marked by many tiny impacts. The southern part interior floor is partly overlaid by the outer rampart of Vega B. The remainder of the floor is relatively featureless except for a few tiny craters.

This feature is named after the Slovenian mathematician Jurij Vega (Georg Freiherr von Vega in German).

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 Vega.

Vega Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 47.2° S 65.3° E 12 km
B 46.2° S 63.5° E 30 km
C 45.2° S 64.8° E 21 km
D 44.7° S 64.3° E 25 km
G 44.4° S 62.4° E 11 km
H 44.5° S 60.1° E 6 km
J 45.6° S 59.9° E 19 km

The estimated age of the crater is 69–70 million years old

References[]

  • 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 2007-08-05.
  • 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.
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