View of
Helicon (left) and Le Verrier (right). While Helicon's ejecta is buried by the mare lava, Le Verrier's is not. (The mountain on the horizon at left is
Promontorium Laplace. Image taken by
Apollo 15).
Le Verrier is a small
lunarimpact crater located in the northern part of the
Mare Imbrium. It was named after French mathematician and astronomer
Urbain Le Verrier.[1] To the west is the slightly larger crater
Helicon, and farther to the west-northwest lies the mountain-ringed bay
Sinus Iridum.
Le Verrier, sometimes written Leverrier, is a bowl-shaped feature with a nearly circular rim. The inner walls display the appearance of slumping along the upper edges. The inner wall and floor to the southeast appears more irregular than elsewhere.
Chang'e 3 landed north of Le Verrier in December 2013.
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 Le Verrier.
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.
Wood, Chuck (2006-08-20).
"Out the Porthole". Lunar Photo of the Day. Retrieved 2016-09-18., excellent earth-based image of Sinus Iridum and vicinity, including Helicon and Le Verrier