Sylvester (crater)

Sylvester
Coordinates82°42′N 79°36′W / 82.7°N 79.6°W / 82.7; -79.6
Diameter58 km
DepthUnknown
Colongitude87° at sunrise
EponymJames J. Sylvester

Sylvester is a lunar impact crater that is located near the north pole of the Moon, along the northern limb in the libration zone. It lies just to the south-southeast of the craters Grignard and Hermite; the latter of which is within one crater diameter of the pole. South of Sylvester is Pascal. Due to its location, Sylvester receives sunlight at only a low angle.

This crater is generally circular, with a sharp-edged rim that has received only a moderate amount of wear. There are no craters of note along the rim, although Sylvester intrudes into a smaller, shallow-rimmed crater to the southeast. The interior floor is relatively flat, but punctuated by several tiny craters. At the midpoint is a small central peak.

Satellite craters

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By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Sylvester.

Sylvester Latitude Longitude Diameter
N 82.4° N 67.3° W 20 km
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References

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  • Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
  • Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
  • Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  • Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
  • McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  • Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID 122125855.
  • Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
  • Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
  • Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
  • Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
  • Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.