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Cauchy (crater)

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Cauchy
Apollo 17 image, with north at bottom
Coordinates9°34′N 38°38′E / 9.56°N 38.63°E / 9.56; 38.63
Diameter11.80 km (7.33 mi)[1]
Depth2.67 km (1.66 mi)[2]
Colongitude321° at sunrise
FormationCopernican[3]
EponymAugustin L. Cauchy

Cauchy is a small lunar impact crater on the eastern Mare Tranquillitatis.[4] On the lunar geologic timescale, this formation dates to the Copernican period.[3] It is circular, with a small interior floor at the midpoint of the sloping inner walls.[5]: 61  The rim shows some asymmetry due to an oblique impact, with the width along the projectile direction being 11.8 km and across its perpendicular being 12.3 km.[6] Due to the high albedo of this bowl-shaped formation, it is particularly prominent at full Moon.[7]

The crater was named after French mathematician Augustin-Louis Cauchy (1789–1857).[1] His name was introduced into lunar nomenclature by Edmund Neison in 1878.[8] Its designation was officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1935.[1]

Nearby features

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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.

Cauchy lies between the Rupes Cauchy and the Rimae Cauchy.[4] To the south of Cauchy is a 150-km fault in the surface named the Rupes Cauchy, which forms a series of cliffs or escarpments.[4] This wall roughly parallels the Rima Cauchy to the north. Rupes Cauchy was named Fossa Casalis in a 1974 map, but this was not approved by the IAU.[9] The term Rupes was used in favor of Fossa for the names of lunar scarps.

South of Rupes Cauchy are two lunar domes designated Omega (ω) Cauchy and Tau (τ) Cauchy.[4] 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.[10]

To the north of Cauchy is the rille named Rima Cauchy, a 210-kilometer-long graben.[4] Rima Cauchy was named Fossa Cauchy in a 1974 map, but term Rima was used in favor of Fossa for the names of lunar rilles.[9]

Satellite craters

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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.[11]

Cauchy[5]: 295  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 some lunar maps[9][12] based on Apollo 15 photographs, but the name was not approved by the IAU, which officially designated the crater name in 2006.[13]

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 "Cauchy". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ↑ Pike, R. J. (September 1976). "Crater Dimensions from Apollo Data and Supplemental Sources". The Moon. 15 (3–4): 463–477. Bibcode:1976Moon...15..463P. doi:10.1007/BF00562253.
  3. 1 2 Settle, M.; Head, J. W. (June 10, 1979). "The role of rim slumping in the modification of lunar impact craters". Journal of Geophysical Research. 84: 3081–3096. Bibcode:1979JGR....84.3081S. doi:10.1029/JB084iB06p03081.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Grego, Peter (2005). The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers' Observing Guides Series. London: Springer-Verlag. p. 145. ISBN 1-85233-748-6.
  5. 1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  6. ↑ Herrick, R. R.; Forsberg-Taylor, N. K. (November 2003). "The shape and appearance of craters formed by oblique impact on the Moon and Venus". Meteoritics & Planetary Science. 38 (11): 1551–1578. Bibcode:2003M&PS...38.1551H. doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.2003.tb00001.x.
  7. ↑ Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
  8. ↑ Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. pp. 136, 223. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  9. 1 2 3 "LTO-61A3 Cauchy". Lunar Topographic Orthophotomap (LTO) Series. Defense Mapping Agency. Retrieved 2026-05-02. Scale: 1:250,000.
  10. ↑ Chu, Alan; et al. (2012). The Cambridge Photographic Moon Atlas. Translated by Storm Dunlop. Cambridge University Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-107-01973-7.
  11. ↑ Grego, P. (2015). "Satellite Crater". In Hargitai, H.; Kereszturi, Á. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_328.
  12. ↑ "LTO-61A2 Lucian". Lunar Topographic Orthophotomap (LTO) Series. Defense Mapping Agency. Retrieved 2026-05-02. Scale: 1:250,000.
  13. ↑ "Cauchy A". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
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