Censorinus (crater)

Censorinus is a 3.8 km lunar impact crater located on a rise to the southeast of the Mare Tranquillitatis. It is named after the ancient Roman writer Censorinus.^[2] To the northwest is the crater Maskelyne.

Coordinates0.4°S 32.7°E / -0.4; 32.7

Diameter3.8 km

Depth0.4 km

Colongitude328° at sunrise

Quick facts Coordinates, Diameter ...

Censorinus

Oblique view from Apollo 16 showing bright rays
Coordinates	0.4°S 32.7°E / -0.4; 32.7
Diameter	3.8 km
Depth	0.4 km
Colongitude	328° at sunrise
Eponym	Censorinus

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Censorinus is distinguished by an area of high-albedo material surrounding the rim. This makes the feature highly prominent when the Sun is at a high angle, and it is one of the brightest objects on the visible Moon. Bright streaks radiate away radially from the crater, and contrast with the darker lunar mare.

This formation has a sharp-edged, raised rim and a symmetrical, cup-shaped interior. Close-up photographs of this crater by Lunar Orbiter 5 show many large blocks lying along the sloping outer rampart. The surface near the crater is hummocky from the deposited ejecta. The crater is otherwise undistinguished.

The vicinity of Censorinus was once considered for an early Apollo landing site.^[3][4] The proposed landing point would have been near the northwest rim, close enough for astronauts to walk to the rim to observe the crater interior and sample boulders of ejecta at various distances from the rim.