Henry (Apollo lunar crater) explained

Henry (Apollo lunar crater) should not be confused with Henry (lunar crater).

Coordinates:20.27°N 30.79°W
Diameter:300m
Eponym:Astronaut-named feature

Henry is a feature on Earth's Moon, a crater in Taurus–Littrow valley, located at the foot of the Sculptured Hills. Astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt landed to the southwest of it in 1972, on the Apollo 17 mission.

Henry is northwest of Shakespeare and Van Serg, and west of Cochise. It is south of Geology Station 6 of the Apollo 17 mission.

The crater's name is currently informal and not recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), although nearly all the other features within the Taurus–Littrow valley that were named by the astronauts are. Possibly part of the reason is that the IAU recognizes the larger lunar crater Henry.[1] The crater was named by the astronauts after the Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator.[2]

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2451 Henry crater
  2. https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.site.html The Valley of Taurus–Littrow