Letronne (crater)

Letronne
Letronne from Apollo 16. NASA photo.
Coordinates10°36′S 42°24′W / 10.6°S 42.4°W / -10.6; -42.4
Diameter120 km
Depth1.0 km
Colongitude42° at sunrise
EponymJean-Antoine Letronne

Letronne is the lava-flooded remnant of a lunar impact crater. It was named after French archaeologist Jean-Antoine Letronne. The northern part of the rim is completely missing, and opens into the Oceanus Procellarum, forming a bay along the southwestern shore. The formation is located to the northwest of the large crater Gassendi.To the west-southwest is the flooded crater Billy, and north-northwest lies the smaller Flamsteed.

The surviving rim of Letronne is now little more than a semi-circular series of ridges. The flooded, broken rim of Winthrop overlies the western wall. The rim is the most intact along the eastern stretch, forming a mountainous promontory into the mare. A small cluster of central rises lie at the midpoint of the crater. The wrinkle ridge Dorsa Rubey traverses the floor from north to south, and outlines a portion of the missing rim. The crater floor is otherwise nearly smooth and relatively free of craterlets, with the exception of Letronne B near the southeast rim.

Letronne is one of the largest craters of Lower (Early) Imbrian age.