The week of February 16-22 takes us from Day 29 to Day 6. This week we will highlight the moon craters Langrenus and Vendelinus, visible on Thursday night close to the terminator.
Langrenus & Vendelinus: [SE/K-L16; L=61°E] These moon craters are the first two segments of the Great Eastern Chain (see image). Langrenus and Vendelinus are two large 90-mi. craters located on the southeast shore of Fertility. One is considerably older than the other and appeared before the lava flows started. It should be easy for you to decide which is which. The terraces and central peaks of Langrenus will have emerged from last night’s shadows, and tonight the crater is a beautiful sight. Even if you have a small telescope, there is much detail in the interior and on the outer ramparts to keep you busy. The younger crater Lamé intrudes on Vendelinus on its NE rim, and it is appropriately smaller. However, notice that Lamé, in turn, overlaps two smaller unnamed craters on its S.W. rim. This is unusual in that intruding craters are almost always smaller than the craters they impact on. (However, Lamé is appropriately overlapped by four smaller intruders on its eastern rim.)
OF ADDITIONAL INTEREST IN SPACE
On February 18, 1930, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.
On February 18, Mercury is 0.1° north of the Moon, occultation visible in southwestern U.S.
On Thursday, Saturn is 5° south of the Moon.
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It is highly recommended that you get a copy of Sky and Telescope’s Field Map of the Moon, the very finest Moon map available for use at the telescope. It is available for $10.95 at www.skyandtelescope.com and on Amazon. All features mentioned in this blog will be keyed to the grid on the Field Map and will look like this: Plato: [NW/D9]
Credits:
Courtesy of Gray Photography of Corpus Christi, Texas
Lunar photos: NASA / USGS / BMDO / LROC / ASU / DLR / LOLA / Moon Globe. Used by permission
- One of the Moon’s Loveliest Sights – Moon Crater Plato - March 9, 2026
- Moon Crater Endymion Resembles Plato - March 2, 2026
- Maurolycus – Moon Crater in the Lunar Highlands - February 23, 2026