Clavius
Location: ·
One of the Moon's largest craters — in 2020, NASA's SOFIA detected water in its sunlit soil.
At 231 km Clavius is large enough that its floor follows the curvature of the Moon. The far rim sits below the horizon seen from the centre, so the floor is convex rather than dished, and the crater has no central peak - at this size and this age, in the Nectarian, the structure relaxed.
The arc of craters crossing the floor descends in order of size: Rutherfurd on the southern rim, then Clavius D, C, N, J and JA curving to the northwest. The sequence is a coincidence of superposition, not a chain from one event.
Sunrise
Sunset
Sunrise and sunset on Clavius
| Event | Time | Lit |
|---|---|---|
| Computing… | ||
- Sunrise / Sunset: at the feature's centre (IAU Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature).
- Lit: the illuminated fraction of the Moon's disc at that moment.
Named after
Christopher Clavius, born Christoph Klau, German mathematician (1537–1612).
Further info
Official record from the IAU Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature: Clavius
Wikipedia: Clavius (crater)