Gardner
Apollo 17 Mapping Camera image
Coordinates17°42′N 33°48′E / 17.7°N 33.8°E / 17.7; 33.8
Diameter18 km
Depth3.0 km
Colongitude327° at sunrise
EponymIrvine C. Gardner
Oblique view from Apollo 15
The Gardner Megadome, from Apollo 17

Gardner is a small lunar impact crater in the northeast part of the Moon. It was named after an American physicist Irvine Clifton Gardner in 1976.[1] It lies due east of the crater Vitruvius, in a section of rough terrain north of the Mare Tranquillitatis. Gardner was previously designated Vitruvius A before being given its present name by the IAU. To the northeast of Gardner is the larger crater Maraldi.

It is a circular crater with sloping inner walls and an interior floor that occupies about half the total crater diameter. The southern half of the floor has a slight rise before reaching the inner wall. The crater is not significantly eroded, and the outer rim is relatively sharp and well-defined. The most distinctive feature is a row of four rounded hills along the northern floor of the crater.

To the south is an elevated area unofficially known as the Gardner Megadome.[2] In the vicinity of the dome are satellite craters including Vitruvius B, H, and T, and Maraldi D.

References

  1. "Gardner (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. The Lamont - Gardner Megadome Alignment: A Lunar Volcano-Tectonic Structure? Charles A. Wood, with images by Wes Higgins, KC Pau and Giorgio Mengoli, Managua Office, Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719. PDF
  • Wood, Chuck (August 16, 2004). "Megadome". Lunar Photo of the Day. Retrieved September 27, 2017. - also featuring the surrounding craters
  • Wood, Chuck (September 26, 2004). "Astonishing Megadome". Lunar Photo of the Day. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  • Wood, Chuck (July 28, 2014). "Quantified Mountain". Lunar Photo of the Day. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
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