Playfair (lunar crater)

This article is about the crater on the Moon. For the Martian crater, see Playfair (Martian crater).
Playfair
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates23°30′N 8°24′E / 23.5°N 8.4°E / 23.5; 8.4
Diameter47 km
Depth2.9 km
Colongitude302° at sunrise
EponymJohn Playfair

Playfair is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged southern highlands on the near side of the Moon. It was named after the Scottish geologist and mathematician John Playfair.[1] It lies along the eastern rim of the eroded satellite crater Playfair G, a formation that is almost twice the diameter of Playfair itself. Playfair is nearly due north of the crater Apianus, and to the southwest of the Abenezra–Azophi crater pair.

This crater is oval in shape, being slightly wider along the east–west axis. The rim is somewhat eroded, and tiny craterlets lie along the south and west rims. The interior floor is level and nearly featureless, with the only feature of the minor interest being a pair of tiny craterlets lying just to the east of the midpoint.

Playfair is a crater of Nectarian age.[2]

  1. ^ "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Playfair". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  2. ^ The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. By Don E. Wilhelms, John F. McCauley, and Newell J. Trask. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington: 1987. Table 9-4.