Clavius on the moon

Clavius is one of the largest crater formations on the Moon, and it is the third largest crater on the visible near side. It is located in the rugged southern highlands of the moon, to the south of the prominent Tycho crater. Due to the location of the crater toward the southern limb, the crater appears oblong due to foreshortening. Because of its great size, Clavius can be detected with the unaided eye. It appears as a prominent notch in the terminator about 1-2 days after the Moon reaches first quarter. Latitude, denoted by the Greek letter φ, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the Equator. ... Map of Earth showing curved lines of longitude Longitude, sometimes denoted by the Greek letter λ, describes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north-south line called the Prime Meridian. ... For the geometric term, see diameter. ... Look up depth in Wiktionary, the free dictionary In classical physics, depth is a distance measured vertically from top to bottom (height) or horizontally from outside to inside (thickness). ... Selenographic coordinates are coordinates that refer to locations on the surface of the Moon. ... An eponym is a person, whether real or fictitious, whose name has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery, or other item. ... Christopher Clavius, born Christoph Clau, (March 25, 1538 – February 12, 1612) was a German mathematician and astronomer who was the main architect of the modern Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of the craters on the Moon. ... This is a list of the craters on the Moon. ... Image File history File links Clavius, a crater on the moon Source: http://history. ... Image File history File links Clavius, a crater on the moon Source: http://history. ... This article is about impact craters, also known as meteor craters. ... Crust composition Oxygen 43% Silicon 21% Aluminium 10% Calcium 9% Iron 9% Magnesium 5% Titanium 2% Nickel 0. ... Tycho is a prominent lunar impact crater located in the southern lunar highlands. ...

Notable nearby craters include Scheiner to the west; Blancanus to the southwest; Maginus in the northeast, and Longomontanus to the northwest. The Rutherfurd crater lies entirely within the southeastern rim, while Porter crater overlays the northeast wall. The smaller crater Clavius L lies across the western rim, and Clavius K breaks through the west-southwest rim. Scheiner is a lunar impact crater that lies to the west of the enormous Clavius walled-plain. ... Blancanus is a lunar impact crater located in the rugged southern region of the Moon, to the southwest of the Clavius walled-plain. ... Maginus is an ancient lunar impact crater located in the southern highlands to the southeast of the prominent Tycho crater. ... Longomontanus is an ancient lunar impact crater located in the rugged southern highlands to the southwest of Tycho crater. ... Rutherfurd is a lunar impact crater located entirely within the southern rim of the much larger Clavius crater. ... Porter is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern part of the Moon, and lies across the northwestern rim of the huge Clavius walled-plain. ...

The crater is one of the older formations on the lunar surface and was likely formed during the Nectarian period about 4 billion years ago. Despite its age, however, the crater is relatively well-preserved. It has a relatively low outer wall in comparison to their size, and it is heavily worn and pock-marked by craterlets. The rim does not significantly overlook the surrounding terrain, making this a "walled depression". The inner surface of the rim is hilly, notched, and varies in width, with the steepest portion in the south end. Overall the rim has been observed to have a somewhat polygonal outline. Lunar is an adjective that means having to do with or pertaining to the Moon, or to moons in general. ... The Nectarian Period of the lunar geologic timescale runs from 3920 million years ago to 3850 million years ago. ... The word billion, and its equivalents in other languages, refer to one of two different numbers. ... Look up Polygon on Wiktionary, the free dictionary For other use please see Polygon (disambiguation) A polygon (literally many angle, see Wiktionary for the etymology) is a closed planar path composed of a finite number of sequential line segments. ...

The floor of the crater forms a convex plain that is marked by some interesting crater impacts. The most notable of these is a curving chain of craters that begin with Rutherfurd in the south, then arc across the floor in a counterclockwise direction forming a sequence of ever diminishing diameters. From largest to smallest, these craters are designated Clavius D, C, N, J, and JA. This sequence of diminishing craters has proved a useful tool for amateur astronomers that want to test the resolution of their small telescopes. A clockwise motion is one that proceeds like the clocks hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back to the top. ... 50 cm refracting telescope at Nice Observatory. ...

The crater floor retains a diminshed remnant of a central massif, which lies between Clavius C and N. The relative smoothness of the floor and the low size of the central peaks may indicate that the crater surface was formed some time after the original impact.

Clavius was featured in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey as the site of a lunar administrative base. A movie poster from the original release of 2001 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is an immensely popular and influential science fiction film and book; the film directed by Stanley Kubrick and the book written by Arthur C. Clarke. ...

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on Lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Clavius crater.

Wikimedia Commons has more media related to:

Clavius (crater)