// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy Censorinus crater so depressed? It's always feeling impacted.

Censorinus
	Oblique view from Apollo 16 showing bright rays
Coordinates	0°24′S 32°42′E / 0.4°S 32.7°E
Diameter	4.10 km (2.55 mi)
Depth	0.039 km (0.024 mi)
Colongitude	328° at sunrise
Eponym	Censorinus

Censorinus is a small lunar impact crater located on a rise to the southeast of the Mare Tranquillitatis. British astronomer T. W. Webb called this "a minute crater, with its vicinity is very brilliant" during full Moon,^[3] while Patrick Moore noted this is "one of the brightest points on the whole Moon, and is always conspicuous, particularly under high illumination".^[4] To the northwest is the crater Maskelyne.

Censorinus is distinguished by an area of high-albedo material surrounding the rim.^[5] 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. Bright streaks radiate away radially from the crater, and contrast with the darker lunar mare.

This formation has a sharp-edged, raised, pear-shaped^[6] rim and a symmetrical, cup-shaped interior. The wall slopes downward at an angle of around 32°.^[7] Close-up photographs of this crater by Lunar Orbiter 5 and later from orbit by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show many large blocks lying along the sloping outer rampart.^[8] Night time measurements show a temperature anomaly suggesting abundant boulders of basalt.^[7] The surface near the crater is hummocky from the deposited ejecta. The crater is otherwise undistinguished.

This crater is named after the ancient Roman writer Censorinus (fl. c. 238). His name was incorporated into lunar nomenclature by Italian selenographer G. B. Riccioli in 1651.^[9] Its designation was officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1935.^[1]

The vicinity of Censorinus was once considered for an early Apollo landing site.^[10]^[11] 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.^[12]

Censorinus^[13]^: 295	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	0.4° S	33.0° E	7 km
B	2.0° S	31.4° E	8 km
C	3.0° S	34.1° E	28 km
D	1.9° S	35.8° E	10 km
E	3.6° S	34.8° E	12 km
H	1.8° S	33.7° E	10 km
J	1.0° S	31.3° E	5 km
K	1.0° S	28.8° E	4 km
L	2.5° S	31.2° E	4 km
N	1.9° S	36.5° E	36 km
S	3.8° S	36.1° E	17 km
T	3.2° S	31.1° E	5 km
U	1.5° S	34.4° E	3 km
V	0.6° S	35.4° E	4 km
W	1.0° S	37.5° E	9 km
X	0.5° S	37.2° E	18 km
Z	3.7° S	36.8° E	12 km

The following craters have been renamed by the IAU.

Censorinus F — See Leakey (crater).^[14]

Censorinus E

References

1 2 "Censorinus". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
↑ Pike, R. J. (September 1976). "Crater Dimensions from Apollo Data and Supplemental Sources". The Moon. 15 (3–4): 463–477. Bibcode:1976Moon...15..463P. doi:10.1007/BF00562253.
↑ Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. pp. 144, 154–159. Reprint: ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3
↑ Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
↑ Grego, Peter (2005). The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers' Observing Guides Series. London: Springer-Verlag. p. 216. ISBN 1-85233-748-6.
↑ Wegener, A. (February 1970). "The origin of the lunar craters" (PDF). NASA Contractor Report. NAS7-100. Bibcode:1970ntrs.rept14279W. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
1 2 Kokelaar, B. P.; et al. (September 2017). "Granular avalanches on the Moon: Mass-wasting conditions, processes, and features". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 122 (9): 1893–1925. Bibcode:2017JGRE..122.1893K. doi:10.1002/2017JE005320.
↑ Krishna, N.; Kumar, P. Senthil (January 2016). "Impact spallation processes on the Moon: A case study from the size and shape analysis of ejecta boulders and secondary craters of Censorinus crater". Icarus. 264: 274–299. Bibcode:2016Icar..264..274K. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.09.033.
↑ Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. pp. 61–62, 311. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
↑ Wilhelms, Don E. (1993). To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's History of Lunar Exploration. University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-1065-8.
↑ El-Baz, Farouk (1968). Geologic Characteristics of the Nine Lunar Landing Mission Sites Recommended by the Group for Lunar Exploration Planning. Contractor Report. Bellcomm, Inc. TR-68-340-1. Retrieved 2026-05-03.
↑ Grego, P. (2015). "Satellite Crater". In Hargitai, H.; Kereszturi, Á. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_328.
↑ Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
↑ Moore, Patrick; Rees, Robin (2014). Patrick Moore's Data Book of Astronomy (2 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-139-49522-6.

External links

Lunar Photo of the Day, "Land of Manna", October 5, 2006, showing Censorinus, and Censorius C, noted as similar to Gaudibert crater

[GPN-1] 1 2 "Censorinus". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.

[Pike_1976-2] Pike, R. J. (September 1976). "Crater Dimensions from Apollo Data and Supplemental Sources". The Moon. 15 (3–4): 463–477. Bibcode:1976Moon...15..463P. doi:10.1007/BF00562253.

[Webb_1962-3] Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. pp. 144, 154–159. Reprint: ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3

[Moore_2001-4] Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.

[Grego_2005-5] Grego, Peter (2005). The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers' Observing Guides Series. London: Springer-Verlag. p. 216. ISBN 1-85233-748-6.

[Wegener_1970-6] Wegener, A. (February 1970). "The origin of the lunar craters" (PDF). NASA Contractor Report. NAS7-100. Bibcode:1970ntrs.rept14279W. Retrieved 2026-05-04.

[Kokelaar_2017-7] 1 2 Kokelaar, B. P.; et al. (September 2017). "Granular avalanches on the Moon: Mass-wasting conditions, processes, and features". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 122 (9): 1893–1925. Bibcode:2017JGRE..122.1893K. doi:10.1002/2017JE005320.

[Krishna_Kumar_2016-8] Krishna, N.; Kumar, P. Senthil (January 2016). "Impact spallation processes on the Moon: A case study from the size and shape analysis of ejecta boulders and secondary craters of Censorinus crater". Icarus. 264: 274–299. Bibcode:2016Icar..264..274K. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.09.033.

[Whitaker_1999-9] Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. pp. 61–62, 311. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.

[Wilhelms_1993-10] Wilhelms, Don E. (1993). To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's History of Lunar Exploration. University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-1065-8.

[El-Baz_1968-11] El-Baz, Farouk (1968). Geologic Characteristics of the Nine Lunar Landing Mission Sites Recommended by the Group for Lunar Exploration Planning. Contractor Report. Bellcomm, Inc. TR-68-340-1. Retrieved 2026-05-03.

[Grego_2015-12] Grego, P. (2015). "Satellite Crater". In Hargitai, H.; Kereszturi, Á. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_328.

[Bussey_Spudis_2004-13] Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.

[Moore_Rees_2014-14] Moore, Patrick; Rees, Robin (2014). Patrick Moore's Data Book of Astronomy (2 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-139-49522-6.

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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy Censorinus crater so depressed? It's always feeling impacted.

Satellite craters

References

External links