Plaskett (crater) explained

Coordinates:	82.1°N 174.3°W
Diameter:	109 km
Depth:	Unknown
Colong:	170
Eponym:	John S. Plaskett

Plaskett is a prominent lunar impact crater that is located on the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies only a few hundred kilometers south of the lunar north pole, and the sunlight it receives is at a low angle. The large walled plain Rozhdestvenskiy is attached to the northeast rim of Plaskett, between the crater and the pole. To the south is the overlapping crater pair of Milankovic and Ricco.

The outer rim of Plaskett has a somewhat polygonal shape formed from outward bulges in the perimeter. The inner wall is terraced along the southern edge, while the remainder is rougher and less finely featured. The interior floor is relatively flat and there is a central peak formed of a double-mount at the midpoint. The satellite crater Plaskett U is attached to the northwest rim.

Because of the isolation of this crater and its location near the lunar limb, it has been suggested as the ideal spot for a future lunar base. A base here would allow simulation of a mission to Mars.^[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 Plaskett.

Plaskett	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
H	80.2° N	165.1° W	20 km
S	81.6° N	148.7° E	17 km
U	83.0° N	160.2° E	14 km
V	82.5° N	118.5° E	49 km

External links

• LAC-1 area - Map of northern lunar pole

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. News: Foing, Bernard H. . Josset, Jean-Luc . March 1, 2007 . SMART-1 views the edge of Luna Incognita: Mars on the Moon? . . 2007-09-11.