Cusanus (crater) explained

Coordinates:	72°N 70.8°W
Diameter:	63 km
Depth:	Unknown
Colong:	293
Eponym:	Nikolaus K. Cusanus

Cusanus is a lunar impact crater that is located near the northeastern limb of the Moon. In this location the crater appears very foreshortened when observed from the Earth, and its visibility is affected by libration. The northern rim of Cusanus is nearly joined to the south-southeastern rim of the larger crater Petermann. To the west is Baillaud and to the southeast is Hayn.

The rim of this crater has been eroded and rounded due to a history of minor impacts. The terraces are still visible along the inner walls, although they are less sharply defined compared to younger crater formations. A pair of tiny craters form a notch along the eastern rim, and there is a slight inward bulge along the western inner wall.

The interior has been resurfaced with lava, leaving a flat and relatively featureless floor. But the lava was not of sufficient depth to significantly reduce the width of the inner walls.

The name of the crater was approved by the IAU in 1935.^[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 Cusanus.

Cusanus	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	70.6° N	64.0° E	16 km
B	70.1° N	64.5° E	21 km
C	70.4° N	60.8° E	25 km
E	72.0° N	72.3° E	10 km
F	70.7° N	73.3° E	10 km
G	69.9° N	76.9° E	10 km
H	69.4° N	59.4° E	8 km

References

• Book: Andersson . L. E. . Whitaker . E. A. . Ewen Whitaker . 1982 . NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature . NASA RP-1097 .
• Web site: Blue . Jennifer . July 25, 2007 . Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature . . 2007-08-05 .
• Book: Bussey . B. . Ben Bussey . Spudis . P. . Paul Spudis . 2004 . The Clementine Atlas of the Moon . . New York . 978-0-521-81528-4 .
• Book: Cocks . Elijah E. . Cocks . Josiah C. . 1995 . Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature . Tudor Publishers . 978-0-936389-27-1 .
• Web site: McDowell . Jonathan . July 15, 2007 . Lunar Nomenclature . . 2007-10-24 .
• Menzel. D. H.. Minnaert. M.. Levin. B.. Dollfus. A.. Bell. B.. Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU. 10.1007/BF00171763. Space Science Reviews. 12. 2. 136–186. 1971. 1971SSRv...12..136M. 122125855.
• Book: Moore , Patrick . Patrick Moore . 2001 . On the Moon . . 978-0-304-35469-6 .
• Book: Price , Fred W. . 1988 . The Moon Observer's Handbook . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-33500-3 .
• Book: Rükl , Antonín . Antonín Rükl . 1990 . Atlas of the Moon . . 978-0-913135-17-4 .
• Book: Webb , Rev. T. W. . Thomas William Webb . 1962 . Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes . 6th revised . Dover . 978-0-486-20917-3 .
• Book: Whitaker , Ewen A. . Ewen Whitaker . 1999 . Mapping and Naming the Moon . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-62248-6 .
• Book: Wlasuk , Peter T. . 2000 . Observing the Moon . Springer . 978-1-85233-193-1 .

Notes and References

1. https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/1354 Cusanus