Astronomy:Dufay (crater)

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Short description: Crater on the Moon
Dufay
Dufay LAC-67.jpg
LRO image
Diameter39 km
DepthUnknown
Colongitude191° at sunrise

Dufay is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies about one crater diameter to the east of the large walled plain Mandel'shtam. To the northwest is the crater Papaleksi and to the east is Valier.

The rim of this crater is heavily worn by impacts, and several small craterlets lie along the southern edge. The inner wall is somewhat wider on the western side when compared to the east and southeast. The interior floor is relatively level and featureless.

Albedo Anomaly

To the northeast of Dufay is a bright albedo anomaly that does not correlate with any topographic features. The lunar surface at the anomaly is not atypical under low sun angles.[1] The albedo anomaly is associated with an enhancement in Thorium.[2]

Satellite craters

Map of 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 Dufay.

Dufay Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 9.5° N 170.5° E 15 km
B 8.5° N 171.0° E 20 km
D 6.3° N 170.5° E 32 km
X 7.2° N 168.5° E 42 km
Y 8.3° N 168.4° E 16 km

References

  1. Dufay Albedo Anomaly low-Sun controlled NAC mosaic, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera
  2. N. E. Petro. Association Between Small Thorium Enhancements, Silicic Volcanism, and Enhanced OH/H2O as Measured by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper. Annual Meeting of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group, 2014. [1]