Aston (crater)

Aston is a lunar impact crater that is located along the northwest limb of the Moon. It is named after scientist Francis William Aston who invented the mass spectrometer and used it to discover many of the stable isotopes. Aston was a keen amateur astronomer with a particular interest in solar eclipses.

Aston

Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates	32.9°N 87.7°W / 32.9; -87.7
Diameter	43 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	254° at sunrise
Eponym	Francis W. Aston

Because of its location the crater is seen nearly from on edge, and visibility is subject to libration. It lies to the east of the crater Röntgen, some distance due west of Ulugh Beigh on the edge of the Oceanus Procellarum. To the south is the crater Voskresenskiy.

The rim of Aston has been worn down and rounded due to subsequent impacts. It forms a circular shape that has not been significantly altered by nearby impacts. The interior floor is relatively flat and featureless, with no central peak of significance.

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 Aston.

Aston	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
K	35.1° N	87.8° W	14 km
L	35.5° N	86.5° W	10 km

References

• Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
• Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
• Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
• Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
• McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
• 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. S2CID 122125855.
• Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
• 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.
• Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
• Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
• Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.

External links

• Media related to Aston (crater) at Wikimedia Commons