| Crater characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32.6° N, 95.3° W |
| Diameter | 312 km |
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 103° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Hendrik Lorentz |
Lorentz is a huge lunar crater that lies just beyond the northwest limb of the Moon, in a region that is brought into sight of the Earth during favorable librations. This formation is nearly as large as the Mare Nectaris on the near side of the Moon, although it has not been submerged by lava as have the lunar mare. Sections of the crater floor are, however, relatively level, particularly an arc along the western rim. But this last region is still marked by a number of tiny craterlets. The remainder of the interior is rough and irregular, and marked with a multitude of impacts. The basin of the Lorentz crater contains a prominent crater pairing, with Nernst crater located just to the north of Lorentz's mid-point, and Röntgen crater attached to the southeast rim of Nernst. Laying across the southern rim of Lorentz is Laue crater, and Avicenna crater lies across the northwest rim. Near the more indeterminate eastern rim of Lorentz is Aston crater.
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 Lorentz crater.
| Lorentz | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| P | 31.8° N | 98.5° W | 38 km |
| R | 33.4° N | 99.2° W | 33 km |
| T | 34.6° N | 100.3° W | 20 km |
| U | 35.0° N | 100.0° W | 22 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 on 2007-08-05.
- Bussey, B.; Spudis, P., (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81528-2.
- Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 0-936389-27-3.
- McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). Lunar Nomenclature. Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved on 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: 136.
- Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co.. ISBN 0-304-35469-4.
- Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon observer's handbook. Cambridge University Press.
- Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-913135-17-8.
- Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, 6th revision, Dover. ISBN 0-486-20917-2.
- Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62248-4.
- Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 1852331933.
