Cauchy (crater)

Cauchy is a small lunar impact crater on the eastern Mare Tranquillitatis. It was named after French mathematician Augustin-Louis Cauchy.[1] It is circular and symmetric, with a small interior floor at the midpoint of the sloping inner walls. Due to the high albedo of this bowl-shaped formation, it is particularly prominent at full Moon.

Cauchy
Apollo 15 image
Coordinates9.6°N 38.6°E / 9.6; 38.6
Diameter12 km
Depth2.6 km
Colongitude321° at sunrise
EponymAugustin L. Cauchy

Cauchy lies between the Rupes Cauchy and the Rimae Cauchy, as described below.

South of Rupes Cauchy are two lunar domes designated Omega (ω) Cauchy and Tau (τ) Cauchy. They lie to the south and southwest of Cauchy respectively. Each lunar dome has a small depression at its crest, which is likely to be a volcanic vent rather than an impact crater. The vent at the top of Omega Cauchy is called Donna.

Rupes Cauchy
Selenographic features around Cauchy as well as its satellite craters and the small Donna Crater to the south

To the south of Cauchy is a 120-km fault in the surface named the Rupes Cauchy, which forms a series of cliffs or escarpments. This wall roughly parallels the Rima Cauchy to the north.

Rima Cauchy

To the north of Cauchy is the rille named Rima Cauchy, a 210-kilometer-long graben.

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 Cauchy.

Cauchy is in the upper right quadrant between Rupes Cauchy and Rimae Cauchy in this Apollo 8 image. Omega and Tau Cauchy are visible below the Rupes Cauchy.
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Cauchy Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 12.1° N 37.9° E 8 km
B 9.8° N 35.8° E 6 km
C 8.2° N 38.9° E 4 km
D 10.0° N 40.3° E 9 km
E 8.9° N 38.6° E 4 km
F 9.6° N 36.8° E 4 km
M 7.6° N 35.1° E 5 km
U 8.8° N 42.3° E 5 km
V 9.0° N 41.5° E 5 km
W 10.6° N 41.6° E 4 km

Cauchy A is shown as Hussein on a 1974 map[2] based on Apollo 15 photographs, but the name was not approved by the IAU, which officially designated the crater name in 2006.[3]

References
  1. "Cauchy (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. LTO-61A3 Cauchy, Lunar Topographic Orthophotomap (LTO) Series
  3. Cauchy A, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
  • Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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  • McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • 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 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763.
  • Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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