Cannon (crater)

Cannon
Apollo 16 image
Coordinates19°54′N 81°24′E / 19.9°N 81.4°E / 19.9; 81.4
Diameter56 km
DepthUnknown
Colongitude280° at sunrise
EponymAnnie J. Cannon
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Oblique Apollo 16 image

Cannon is a lunar impact crater that is located near the east-northeastern limb of the Moon's near side. It lies just to the northwest of the Mare Marginis, and south-southeast of the crater Plutarch. Farther to the east-northeast is Hubble.

This is a worn and eroded formation with an interior floor that has been resurfaced by lava. A small crater overlies the north rim, which forms a notch in the side. Tiny craters also lie across the rim northeast and at the southern edge. The interior is level and nearly featureless, with only a few tiny scattered craterlets to mark the surface. This floor has the same albedo as the surrounding terrain.

The crater is named after American astronomer Annie Jump Cannon,[1] an astronomer who classified 300,000 stellar bodies. The name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1963.[1]

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 Cannon.

Cannon[2] Latitude Longitude Diameter
B 17.5° N 80.0° E 31 km
E 19.2° N 79.1° E 22 km

See also

  • 1120 Cannonia, main-belt asteroid

References

  1. ^ a b "Cannon". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ^ Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 294. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.

Sources