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Cayley (crater)
*** Shopping-Tip: Cayley (crater)
{{lunar crater data|
latitude=4.0|
N_or_S=N|
longitude=15.1|
E_or_W=E|
diameter=14 km|
depth=3.1 km|
colong=345|
eponym=
Arthur Cayley}}
'''Cayley''' is a small
moon lunar impact crater that is located in a
basaltic-
lava-flooded region to the west of
Mare Tranquillitatis. It lies to the northwest of the smaller
De Morgan (crater) De Morgan and the larger
D'Arrest (crater) D'Arrest craters. West and slightly north of the crater is
Whewell (crater) Whewell crater, a crater of about the same dimensions. To the north is a linear
rille designated ''Rima Ariadaeus'', which follows a course to the east-southeast.
This is a circular, bowl-shaped formation with a small interior floor at the mid-point. (Small being relative to the overall diameter, as it occupies about one-fourth the total cross-section.) The sloping interior walls are relatively light in hue, having a higher
albedo as the surrounding terrain. However it is not nearly as bright as the slightly larger
Dionysius (crater) Dionysius crater to the east-southeast, and lacks a
ray system.
The terrain surrounding the crater is somewhat similar to the
lunar mares, but has a slightly higher
albedo and is overlapped at the eastern edge by the
Mare Tranquillitatis. Lunar scientists suspect that this plain may have resulted from deposits of ''ejecta'' from the formation of an impact basin. (The most likely source is the
Mare Imbrium impact basin to the northwest.)
References
* Charles A. Wood, "Looking Between Craters," ''Sky & Telescope'', March, 2006.
* {{Lunar crater references}}
Category:Craters on the Moon
