Snellius (crater)

Snellius is a lunar impact crater located near the southeast limb of the Moon.

The crater area (at the bottom right) in selenochromatic format (Si). More infos here : https://www.gawh.it/main/selenocromatica

Snellius

Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates	29.3°S 55.7°E / -29.3; 55.7
Diameter	83 km
Depth	3.5 km
Colongitude	304° at sunrise
Eponym	Willebrord Snell

The rim of Snellius is heavily worn and eroded, with overlapping craterlets. The floor is somewhat irregular and uneven. The western rim marks the start of the Vallis Snellius, one of the longest valleys on the Moon. It continues nearly 500 kilometers to the northwest to near the edge of Mare Nectaris. Its origin is most likely associated with the formation of the lunar mare.

To the northeast is the large crater Petavius. South of Snellius is the crater Stevinus. Just to the northwest is Snellius A, a crater with a notable ray system that overlaps the southwest reaches of Mare Fecunditatis to the north.

It is named after Dutch astronomer, mathematician and physicist, Willebrord Snellius.

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 Snellius.

Snellius	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	27.4° S	53.8° E	37 km
B	30.1° S	53.1° E	29 km
C	29.0° S	51.5° E	9 km
D	28.7° S	51.5° E	9 km
E	28.0° S	51.5° E	12 km
X	27.4° S	55.1° E	7 km
Y	25.7° S	52.2° E	10 km

References

• 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.
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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.
• 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. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• 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.