Pasteur (lunar crater)

lunar crater data
latitude=11.9
N_or_S=S
longitude=104.6
E_or_W=E
diameter=224 km
depth="Unknown"
colong=259
eponym=Louis Pasteur

Pasteur is a large lunar crater belonging to the category termed a walled plain. It lies on the far side of the Moon as seen from the Earth, just beyond the eastern limb. The vicinity of this crater is occasionally brought into view of the Earth due to librations, although not much detail can be seen.

Lying along the southern rim of Pasteur is the smaller Backlund crater. Just to the southeast is the Hilbert walled plain, a feature nearly two-thirds the diameter of Pasteur. To the southwest is the prominent Sklodowska crater, and to the east is Meitner crater.

The outer rim of Pasteur is generally irregular, with sections being heavily damaged by multiple impacts. The northern rim in particular has been nearly obliterated by overlapping impacts, and the southern rim is not in much better shape with a stretch overlain by Backlund. The southeast rim of Pasteur is nearly linear near where the ground has been modified by Hilbert. Even the western rim is heavily damaged, with overlaying craters 'Pasteur U', 'Pasteur T', and 'Pasteur Q'. (The first of these, 'Pasteur U', forms a merged group of overlapping craters.)

The interior is not in much better shape, with the southern half irregular from "ejecta" covering the surface, and several small craters laying across the floor. In the northwest part of the floor is a short chain of small, overlapping craters forming an arcing line from north to south. Satellite craters 'Pasteur G' and 'Pasteur H' form a pair to the east of the mid-point.

atellite 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 Pasteur crater.

References