Encke (crater)

Encke
Coordinates4°36′N 36°36′W / 4.6°N 36.6°W / 4.6; -36.6
Diameter28 km
Depth0.8 km
Colongitude37° at sunrise
EponymJohann F. Encke
The crater area in a Selenochromatic Image (Si)
Oblique view from Apollo 12

Encke is a lunar impact crater that is located on the western edge of the Mare Insularum, to the south-southeast of the crater Kepler. The small crater Kunowsky lies to the east-southeast on the mare.

The crater is named after German mathematician and astronomer Johann Franz Encke.[1]

The rim of Encke is low and somewhat polygonal in shape. The tiny craterlet Encke N lies across the western rim. The floor is somewhat uneven, and is covered in ray material from the nearby Kepler. The high albedo of this ejecta makes Encke a bright feature when the Sun is at a high elevation over the lunar surface.

  1. ^ "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Encke". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved August 29, 2017.