Tacitus (crater) explained

Coordinates:	-16.2°N 19°W
Diameter:	40 km
Depth:	2.8 km
Colong:	340
Eponym:	Cornelius Tacitus

Tacitus is a lunar impact crater located to the northwest of the crater Catharina, at the northern extension of the Rupes Altai ridge line. It was named after the 1st century Roman historian and writer Tacitus. Directly west is the crater Almanon, and to the northeast is Cyrillus. To the southeast of Tacitus is a long chain of craters named the Catena Abulfeda. This chain runs to the northwest from the eastern edge of the Rupes Altai, continuing for over 200 kilometers.

The crater terminates a ridge which forms part of the Rupes Altai. The outer wall has a small rampart, and the interior surfaces are terraced. The rim outline has a slight polygonal outline. There is a low ridge on the crater floor running from the north wall.

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 Tacitus.

Tacitus	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	17.4° S	20.5° E	11 km
B	14.0° S	20.4° E	13 km
C	13.6° S	19.8° E	9 km
D	13.5° S	21.0° E	15 km
E	13.9° S	20.1° E	9 km
F	17.1° S	17.6° E	10 km
G	17.4° S	18.2° E	6 km
H	17.8° S	18.5° E	7 km
J	14.9° S	19.7° E	3 km
K	13.1° S	20.1° E	3 km
L	14.4° S	20.9° E	6 km
M	13.9° S	21.5° E	6 km
N	16.9° S	19.4° E	7 km
O	14.0° S	21.9° E	5 km
Q	18.0° S	20.5° E	5 km
R	16.7° S	19.7° E	5 km
S	14.5° S	19.1° E	10 km
X	15.8° S	18.2° E	4 km

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

• Tacitus at The Moon Wiki