Crocco (crater)

Crocco
	LRO image
Coordinates	47°30′S 150°12′E / 47.5°S 150.2°E
Diameter	67.50 km (41.94 mi)
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	211° at sunrise
Eponym	Gaetano A. Crocco

Crocco is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon from the Earth.^[2] It is located to the northeast of the huge walled plain Planck, and northwest of the equally huge Poincaré. Just to the north, within one crater diameter, is the crater Koch.^[3]

This is a nearly circular crater formation whose eastern rim has been partly overlain by the satellite crater Crocco G. The rim has received some erosion, but it retains a well-defined edge. A small craterlet lies across the north-northeast rim. Just to the west-southwest of Crocco, nearly attached to the rim, is the satellite crater Crocco R.^[4]^: 118

The northwestern half of the interior floor is level and almost featureless; displaying the appearance of having been resurfaced by lava. The morphology of this pond suggests two separate flows occurring at different times periods.^[5] The opposite half of the floor displays some irregularities, including the rim of a small crater that has been almost completely submerged by the lava flow. This crater has a gap in the north rim, and forms a bay on the interior floor of Crocco. A ridge runs from the western rim of this small crater to the southwest inner wall of Crocco.^[4]^: 118

This crater is named after Gaetano Arturo Crocco (1877–1968), an Italian scientist and aeronautics pioneer.^[6] Its designation was formally adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1970.^[1]

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 Crocco.^[7]

Crocco^[4]^: 296	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
E	46.8° S	152.0° E	17 km
G	47.8° S	152.3° E	42 km
R	48.3° S	147.5° E	57 km

References

1 2 "Crocco". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program. Retrieved 2026-07-14.
↑ Moore, Patrick (2000). The Data Book of Astronomy. CRC Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-4200-3344-1.
↑ Byrne, Charles J. (2008). The Far Side of the Moon. Springer. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-4899-8806-5.
1 2 3 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
↑ Yingst, R. Aileen; Head, James W. (August 1999). "Geology of mare deposits in South Pole-Aitken basin as seen by Clementine UV/VIS data". Journal of Geophysical Research. 104 (E8): 18957–18980. Bibcode:1999JGR...10418957Y. doi:10.1029/1999JE900016.
↑ Menzel, D. H.; et al. (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.
↑ 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.

Sources

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.
Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.

[GPN-1] 1 2 "Crocco". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program. Retrieved 2026-07-14.

[Moore_2000-2] Moore, Patrick (2000). The Data Book of Astronomy. CRC Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-4200-3344-1.

[Byrne_2008-3] Byrne, Charles J. (2008). The Far Side of the Moon. Springer. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-4899-8806-5.

[Bussey_Spudis_2004-4] 1 2 3 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.

[Yingst_Head_1999-5] Yingst, R. Aileen; Head, James W. (August 1999). "Geology of mare deposits in South Pole-Aitken basin as seen by Clementine UV/VIS data". Journal of Geophysical Research. 104 (E8): 18957–18980. Bibcode:1999JGR...10418957Y. doi:10.1029/1999JE900016.

[Menzel_et_al_1971-6] Menzel, D. H.; et al. (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.

[Grego_2015-7] 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.

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References

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