Rocca (crater) explained
| Coordinates: | -12.7°N -72.8°W |
| Diameter: | 89 km |
| Depth: | Unknown |
| Colong: | 74 |
| Eponym: | Giovanni A. Rocca |
Rocca is a lunar impact crater that is located near the western limb of the Moon. It lies to the northwest of the flooded crater Crüger, and to the west of the Montes Cordillera. Just to the east-southeast of Rocca is the small Lacus Aestatis, a small lunar mare.
This crater lies within the skirt of the ejecta that surrounds the Mare Orientale impact basin, and radial streaks of material have modified the surroundings of Rocca. There is a dune-like set of hills in the east part of the floor, similar to those in the eastern floor of the crater Darwin to the south, which is "decelerated surface-flow ejecta" from the Orientale impact.[1] The rest of the crater is in poor condition with small craters along the rim. Rocca R cuts across the northern rim, while the smaller Rocca L lies along the southern edge and inner wall.
Rocca is a crater of Nectarian age.[2]
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 Rocca.
| Rocca | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|
| A | 13.8° S | 70.0° W | 63 km |
| B | 12.6° S | 67.4° W | 25 km |
| C | 10.7° S | 70.2° W | 19 km |
| D | 11.0° S | 68.0° W | 24 km |
| E | 11.8° S | 69.4° W | 43 km |
| F | 13.6° S | 66.6° W | 27 km |
| G | 13.3° S | 64.9° W | 23 km |
| H | 12.9° S | 65.4° W | 26 km |
| J | 14.9° S | 73.9° W | 13 km |
| L | 13.9° S | 72.6° W | 17 km |
| M | 14.5° S | 70.7° W | 42 km |
| N | 11.6° S | 70.3° W | 24 km |
| P | 11.2° S | 71.7° W | 32 km |
| Q | 15.3° S | 69.0° W | 59 km |
| R | 11.4° S | 72.9° W | 46 km |
| S | 10.3° S | 71.5° W | 10 km |
| T | 9.7° S | 71.0° W | 16 km |
| W | 10.3° S | 67.0° W | 102 km |
| Z | 16.0° S | 75.4° W | 55 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
- The geologic history of the Moon, 1987, Wilhelms, Don E.; with sections by McCauley, John F.; Trask, Newell J. USGS Professional Paper: 1348. (online), Figure 7.8
- https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1348 The geologic history of the Moon
