Denning (lunar crater)

Denning
Lunar Orbiter 1 image
Coordinates16°24′S 142°36′E / 16.4°S 142.6°E / -16.4; 142.6
Diameter44 km
DepthUnknown
Colongitude218° at sunrise
EponymWilliam F. Denning
Apollo 15 image showing Denning to the upper left. Note the high-albedo crater at right center. NASA photo.
Oblique view from Apollo 13

Denning is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies about midway between the craters Levi-Civita to the south and Marconi to the north-northeast. About two crater diameters to the southeast is the huge walled plain Gagarin.

The rim of this worn crater is circular but somewhat irregular-edged. There is a low central rise at the midpoint consisting of at least two hills. Attached to the southwest outer rim is the larger satellite crater Denning R. About one crater diameter the southeast of Denning is a bright patch of high-albedo surface. This patch was most likely created by a small, relatively recent impact.

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 Denning.

Denning Latitude Longitude Diameter
B 15.2° S 143.5° E 32 km
C 14.5° S 145.3° E 17 km
D 16.1° S 144.1° E 14 km
L 18.8° S 143.2° E 21 km
R 17.2° S 141.2° E 72 km
U 16.0° S 138.6° E 30 km
V 15.5° S 139.7° E 26 km
Y 14.0° S 142.3° E 52 km
Z 12.9° S 142.5° E 14 km

References

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  • Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
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  • 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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