Rocca (crater)

Rocca
Mosaic of Lunar Orbiter 4 images
Coordinates12°42′S 72°48′W / 12.7°S 72.8°W / -12.7; -72.8
Diameter89 km
DepthUnknown
Colongitude74° at sunrise
EponymGiovanni 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

  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. By Don E. Wilhelms, John F. McCauley, and Newell J. Trask. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington: 1987. Table 9-4.
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  • 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.
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  • Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
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  • 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.