Editing Censorinus (crater)

{{Short description|Circular depression on the Moon}}
{{Infobox Lunar crater
| image       = Censorinus crater AS16-P-5276.jpg
| image_size  = 
| caption     = Oblique view from [[Apollo 16]] showing bright rays
| coordinates = {{coord|0.4|S|32.7|E|globe:moon_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| diameter    = 3.8 km
| depth       = 0.4 km
| colong      = 328
| eponym      = [[Censorinus]]
}}
[[File:Mare Tranquillitatis Si - Ferruggia.jpg|left|thumb|The crater area with selenochromatic format<ref>{{cite web |title=Selenocromatica |url=https://www.gawh.it/main/selenocromatica |access-date=19 January 2025 |website=GAWH}}</ref> ]]
[[File:Censorinus crater AS11-41-6083.jpg|thumb|right|[[Apollo 11]] image]]
[[File:Censorinus crater west rim boulders 5063 h2.jpg|thumb|right|Part of a [[Lunar Orbiter 5]] image showing abundant boulders on the west rim of Censorinus.]]
[[File:Censorinus crater AS15-81-10997.jpg|thumb|right|[[Apollo 15]] image]]
'''Censorinus''' is a 3.8&nbsp;km [[Lunar craters|lunar]] [[impact crater]] located on a rise to the southeast of the [[Mare Tranquillitatis]]. It is named after the [[ancient Rome|ancient Roman]] writer [[Censorinus]].<ref>{{gpn|1099}}</ref> To the northwest is the crater [[Maskelyne (crater)|Maskelyne]].

Censorinus is distinguished by an area of high-[[albedo]] material surrounding the rim. This makes the feature highly prominent when the Sun is at a high angle, and it is one of the brightest objects on the visible [[Moon]]. [[Ray system|Bright streaks]] radiate away radially from the crater, and contrast with the darker [[lunar mare]].

This formation has a sharp-edged, raised rim and a symmetrical, cup-shaped interior. Close-up photographs of this crater by [[Lunar Orbiter 5]] show many large blocks lying along the sloping outer [[wikt:rampart|rampart]]. The surface near the crater is hummocky from the deposited [[ejecta]]. The crater is otherwise undistinguished.

The vicinity of Censorinus was once considered for an early [[Apollo Program|Apollo]] landing site.<ref>To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's History of Lunar Exploration. Don E. Wilhelms, University of Arizona Press (1993). {{ISBN|978-0816510658}}</ref><ref>[[Farouk El-Baz|El-Baz, Farouk]], 1968. ''Geologic Characteristics of the Nine Lunar Landing Mission Sites Recommended by the Group for Lunar Exploration Planning''. Bellcomm, Inc. TR-68-340-1.</ref>  The proposed landing point would have been near the northwest rim, close enough for astronauts to walk to the rim to observe the crater interior and sample boulders of ejecta at various distances from the rim.

==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 Censorinus.

{| class="wikitable"
!width="25%" style="background:#eeeeee;" |Censorinus
!width="25%" style="background:#eeeeee;" |Latitude
!width="25%" style="background:#eeeeee;" |Longitude
!width="25%" style="background:#eeeeee;" |Diameter
|-
|align="center"|A
|align="center"|0.4° S
|align="center"|33.0° E
|align="center"|7&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|B
|align="center"|2.0° S
|align="center"|31.4° E
|align="center"|8&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|C
|align="center"|3.0° S
|align="center"|34.1° E
|align="center"|28&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|D
|align="center"|1.9° S
|align="center"|35.8° E
|align="center"|10&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|E
|align="center"|3.6° S
|align="center"|34.8° E
|align="center"|12&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|H
|align="center"|1.8° S
|align="center"|33.7° E
|align="center"|10&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|J
|align="center"|1.0° S
|align="center"|31.3° E
|align="center"|5&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|K
|align="center"|1.0° S
|align="center"|28.8° E
|align="center"|4&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|L
|align="center"|2.5° S
|align="center"|31.2° E
|align="center"|4&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|N
|align="center"|1.9° S
|align="center"|36.5° E
|align="center"|36&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|S
|align="center"|3.8° S
|align="center"|36.1° E
|align="center"|17&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|T
|align="center"|3.2° S
|align="center"|31.1° E
|align="center"|5&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|U
|align="center"|1.5° S
|align="center"|34.4° E
|align="center"|3&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|V
|align="center"|0.6° S
|align="center"|35.4° E
|align="center"|4&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|W
|align="center"|1.0° S
|align="center"|37.5° E
|align="center"|9&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|X
|align="center"|0.5° S
|align="center"|37.2° E
|align="center"|18&nbsp;km
|-
|align="center"|Z
|align="center"|3.7° S
|align="center"|36.8° E
|align="center"|12&nbsp;km
|}

The following craters have been renamed by the [[International Astronomical Union|IAU]].
* Censorinus F &mdash; ''See'' [[Leakey (crater)]].

<gallery>
Censorinus C crater AS16-P-4502.jpg|Censorinus E
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book
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  | first2 = E. A.
  | author-link2 = Ewen Whitaker
  | date = 1982
  | title = [[NASA]] Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature
  | publisher = NASA RP-1097
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last1 = Bussey
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  | author-link1 = Ben Bussey
  | last2 = Spudis
  | first2 = P.
  | author-link2 = Paul Spudis
  | date = 2004
  | title = The Clementine Atlas of the Moon
  | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
  | location = New York
  | isbn = 978-0-521-81528-4
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last1 = Cocks
  | first1 = Elijah E.
  | last2 = Cocks
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  | date = 1995
  | title = Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature
  | publisher = Tudor Publishers
  | isbn = 978-0-936389-27-1
  | url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780936389271
  }}
* {{cite web
  | last = McDowell
  | first = Jonathan
  | date = July 15, 2007
  | url = http://host.planet4589.org/astro/lunar/
  | title = Lunar Nomenclature
  | publisher = [[Jonathan's Space Report]]
  | access-date = 2007-10-24
  }}
* {{cite journal| last1 = Menzel| first1 = D. H.| last2 = Minnaert| first2 = M.| last3 = Levin| first3 = B.| last4 = Dollfus| first4 = A.| last5 = Bell| first5 = B.| title = Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU| doi = 10.1007/BF00171763| journal = Space Science Reviews| volume = 12| issue = 2| pages = 136–186| year = 1971| bibcode = 1971SSRv...12..136M| s2cid = 122125855}}
* {{cite book
  | first = Patrick
  | last = Moore
  | author-link = Patrick Moore
  | date = 2001
  | title = On the Moon
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  | isbn = 978-0-304-35469-6
  | url = https://archive.org/details/patrickmooreonmo00patr
  }}
* {{cite book
  | first = Fred W.
  | last = Price
  | date = 1988
  | title = The Moon Observer's Handbook
  | publisher = Cambridge University Press
  | isbn = 978-0-521-33500-3
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Rükl
  | first = Antonín
  | author-link = Antonín Rükl
  | date = 1990
  | title = Atlas of the Moon
  | publisher = [[Kalmbach Books]]
  | isbn = 978-0-913135-17-4
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Webb
  | first = Rev. T. W.
  | author-link = Thomas William Webb
  | date = 1962
  | title = Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes
  | edition = 6th revised
  | publisher = Dover
  | isbn = 978-0-486-20917-3
  | url = https://archive.org/details/celestialobjects00webb
  }}
* {{cite book
  | first = Ewen A.
  | last = Whitaker
  | author-link = Ewen Whitaker
  | date = 1999
  | title = Mapping and Naming the Moon
  | publisher = Cambridge University Press
  | isbn = 978-0-521-62248-6
  }}
* {{cite book
  | first = Peter T.
  | last = Wlasuk
  | date = 2000
  | title = Observing the Moon
  | publisher = Springer
  | isbn = 978-1-85233-193-1
 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* Lunar Photo of the Day, "[http://www2.lpod.org/wiki/October_5,_2006 Land of Manna]", October 5, 2006, showing Censorinus, and Censorius C, noted as similar to [[Gaudibert (crater)|Gaudibert]] crater

{{Craters on the Moon: C-F}}

[[Category:Impact craters on the Moon]]