Definition
A crater nearby another, usually larger (parent or patronymic) crater.
Synonyms
Lettered crater; Satellitic crater; Satellite feature
Interpretation
In many cases the term satellite crater is used as a synonym of “secondary crater,” but they may or may not be secondary raters (the labeling of any particular feature as a secondary crater depends upon a geological interpretation).
History of Investigation
Satellite craters of the Moon were first designated in a systematic way by Beer and Mädler. They assigned secondary craters a letter associated with a nearby parent crater. Beer and Mädler labeled these craters by placing the letter on the side facing the parent crater (Mosher 2010). In the original IAU nomenclature of Blagg and Müller, capital Roman letters were used for naming depressions, including craters; they used double Roman letters for a few small craters, regarded as “satellites” of a “lettered crater.” In 1973 in part from a NASA request, IAU declared its...
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References
Andersson LE, Whitaker EA (1982) NASA catalogue of lunar nomenclature. NASA Reference Publication 1097. NASA, Tucson
Arthur DWG, Agnieray AP, Horvath RA, Wood CA, Chapman CR (1963) The system of lunar craters, quadrant I. Commun Lunar Planet Lab 2(30):71–78, University of Arizona (NASA CR-52401)
IAU WGPSN (2012) Descriptor terms (feature types). Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms
Mosher J (2010) Satellite feature. Moon-wiki. Modified 22 July 2010. http://the-moon.wikispaces.com/Satellite+feature
Whitaker E (1999) Mapping and naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Grego, P. (2015). Satellite Crater. In: Hargitai, H., Kereszturi, Á. (eds) Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_328
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