Maskelyne (crater) explained

Coordinates:	2.2°N 30.1°W
Diameter:	22 km
Depth:	2.5 km
Colong:	330
Eponym:	Nevil Maskelyne

Maskelyne is a solitary lunar impact crater that lies in the southeast part of the Mare Tranquillitatis. Its diameter is 22 km. It was named after British astronomer Nevil Maskelyne. The outer rim has a somewhat polygonal shape, although it is generally circular. The inner walls are terraced and there is a low central rise at the midpoint of the floor.

Tranquility Base, the landing site of the 1969 Apollo 11 expedition, is located about 250 kilometers to the west-southwest. To the northeast are Wallach and Aryabhata. To the southeast is the bright Censorinus. To the south are the lunar mountains informally known as Duke Island and Boot Hill. There are sinuous rilles southwest and west of Maskelyne - these were informally named Sidewinder and Diamondback by the Apollo 10 crew^[1] and referred to as such by later missions, especially Apollo 11.

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 Maskelyne.

Maskelyne	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	0.1° N	34.0° E	29 km
B	2.0° N	28.9° E	9 km
C	1.1° N	32.7° E	9 km
D	2.5° N	32.5° E	33 km
F	4.2° N	35.3° E	21 km
G	2.4° N	26.7° E	6 km
J	3.2° N	32.7° E	4 km
K	3.3° N	29.6° E	5 km
M	7.8° N	27.9° E	8 km
N	5.4° N	30.3° E	5 km
P	0.5° N	34.1° E	10 km
R	3.0° N	31.3° E	13 km
T	0.0° S	36.6° E	5 km
W	0.9° N	29.2° E	4 km
X	1.3° N	27.4° E	4 km
Y	1.8° N	28.1° E	4 km

The following craters have been renamed by the IAU.

• Maskelyne E - See Aryabhata (crater).
• Maskelyne H - See Wallach (crater).

References

• Book: Andersson . L. E. . Whitaker . E. A. . Ewen Whitaker . 1982 . NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature . NASA RP-1097 .
• 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

. 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

. Antonín Rükl . 1990 . Atlas of the Moon . . 978-0-913135-17-4 .

• Book: Webb , Rev. T. W. . Thomas William Webb

. Thomas William Webb . 1962 . Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes . 6th revised . Dover . 978-0-486-20917-3 .

• Book: Whitaker , Ewen A. . Ewen Whitaker

. 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 .

External links

• LTO-61D4 Maskelyne Orientalis, Lunar Topographic Orthophotomap (LTO) Series
• Location of Maskelyne Crater in Google Moon
• Lunar Orbiter 2 frame 5 showing part of Maskelyne F

Notes and References

1. https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day5-pt19.html Apollo 10 Flight Journal, Part 19