Gioja (crater)

lunar crater data
latitude=83.3
N_or_S=N
longitude=2.0
E_or_W=E
diameter=41 km
depth=2.9 km
colong=4
eponym=Flavio Gioia

Gioia is a lunar crater that is located in the vicinity of the north pole of the Moon. It is named after the Italian inventor Flavio Gioia. As it lies so close to the northern limb, it is view nearly from the edge making difficult to observe from the Earth. The crater is attached to the southern rim of the larger Byrd crater, a formation with low walls. To the south-southeast is the Main crater.

The rim of Gioia crater remains nearly circular, but is worn and somewhat eroded. The exterior s have been modified by subsequent impacts, particularly along the western rim. The rim achieves its high point to the northwest, where it has been reinforced by the Byrd crater rim and other since-vanished formations. The interior floor is nearly flat, with a low cleft or ridge running from the mid-point to the north-northeast rim. Several tiny craterlets mark the inner floor, most notably a pair near the west-northwestern inner wall.

References