Kepler is most notable for the prominent
ray system that covers the surrounding
mare. The rays extend for well over 300 kilometers, overlapping the rays from other craters. Kepler has a small
rampart of ejecta surrounding the exterior of its high rim. The outer wall is not quite circular, and possesses a slightly
polygonal form. The interior walls of Kepler are slumped and slightly
terraced, descending to an uneven floor and a minor central rise.
One of the rays from
Tycho, when extended across the
Oceanus Procellarum, intersects this crater. This was a factor in the choice of the crater's name when
Giovanni Riccioli was creating his system of
lunar nomenclature, as Kepler used the observations of
Tycho Brahe while devising his three laws of planetary motion. On Riccioli's maps, this crater was named Keplerus, and the surrounding skirt of higher
albedo terrain was named Insulara Ventorum.
Due to its prominent rays, Kepler is mapped as part of the
Copernican System.[2]
Kepler area with mineral postprocessing (L(DVF)+C -daytime acquisition)
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Kepler.
Latitude
Kepler
Longitude
Diameter
7.2° N
A
36.1° W
11 km
7.8° N
B
35.3° W
7 km
10.0° N
C
41.8° W
11 km
7.4° N
D
41.9° W
10 km
7.4° N
E
43.9° W
6 km
8.3° N
F
39.0° W
7 km
12.2° N
P
34.0° W
4 km
9.0° N
T
34.6° W
3 km
Kepler D crater
References
^"Kepler (lunar crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
^The geologic history of the Moon, 1987,
Wilhelms, Don E.; with sections by McCauley, John F.; Trask, Newell J.
USGS Professional Paper: 1348. Plate 11: Copernican System (
online)
Andersson, L. E.;
Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186.
Bibcode:
1971SSRv...12..136M.
doi:
10.1007/BF00171763.
S2CID122125855.