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Diophantus is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southwest part of the Mare Imbrium. It forms a pair with the larger Delisle crater to the north. Diophantus has a wide inner wall and a low central rise. To the north of Diophantus is the sinuous rille designated Rima Diophantus, being named after the crater. There is a tiny craterlet near the exterior of the southwest wall.

General characteristics
Latitude 27.6° N
Longitude 34.3° W
Diameter 19 km
Depth 3.0 km
Colongitude   34° at sunrise
Eponym Diophantus
References See listing

Rima Diophantus

This cleft follows a generally east-west path across the Mare Imbrium. It is centered at selenographic coordinates 31.0° N, 32.0° W, and has a maximum diameter of 150 km. Several tiny craters near this rille have been assigned names by the IAU. These are listed in the table below.

Crater Longitude Latitude Diameter Name source
Isabel 28.2° N 34.1° W 1 km Spanish feminine name
Louise 28.5° N 34.2° W 0.8 km French feminine name
Samir 28.5° N 34.3° W 2 km Arabic masculine name
Walter1 28.0° N 33.8° W 1 km German masculine name


1 Note that the large Walther crater in the southern hemisphere is identified as Walter in some publications.

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Diophantus crater.

Diophantus Latitude Longitude Diameter
B 29.1° N 32.5° W 6 km
C 27.3° N 34.7° W 5 km
D 26.9° N 36.3° W 4 km


The following craters have been renamed by the IAU.

Diophantus A — Artsimovich crater.

Moon


"Ancient Greeks on the Moon"

see also: The Solar System

Astronomy Encyclopedia

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