Sharp (crater)
Encyclopedia
Sharp is a lunar
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

 impact crater
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...

 located to the west of the Sinus Iridum
Sinus Iridum
Sinus Iridum is a plain of basaltic lava that forms a northwestern extension to the Mare Imbrium. It is surrounded from the northeast to the southwest by the Montes Jura range. The protruding part of the range at the southwest end is named Promontorium Heraclides, while that at the northeast end...

 bay of the Mare Imbrium
Mare Imbrium
Mare Imbrium, Latin for "Sea of Showers" or "Sea of Rains", is a vast lunar mare filling a basin on Earth's Moon and one of the larger craters in the Solar System. Mare Imbrium was created when lava flooded the giant crater formed when a very large object hit the Moon long ago...

, beyond the Montes Jura
Montes Jura
Montes Jura is a mountain range in the northwest part of the Moon . The selenographic coordinates of this range are 47.1° N 34.0° W, and it has a diameter of 422 km...

 range. To the southwest is the crater Mairan
Mairan (crater)
Mairan is a lunar impact crater that is located on a highland peninsula between Oceanus Procellarum to the west and Mare Imbrium to the east. To the north-northeast is the comparably sized crater Sharp. Northwest of Mairan is the heavily eroded Louville....

. Because of its location and foreshortening, Sharp appears elliptical whereas the crater rim is actually circular.

Sharp is surrounded by a rugged region of mounts and rises. Ridges are joined to the north and south ends of the rim. The crater has a low central peak at the mid-point of the floor. Between Sharp and Sharp A is an unnamed sinuous rille
Rille
Rille is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the lunar surface that resemble channels. Typically a rille can be up to several kilometers wide and hundreds of kilometers in length...

. The more distant Rima Sharp is located on the Mare Frigoris
Mare Frigoris
Mare Frigoris is a lunar mare located just north of Mare Imbrium, and stretches east to north of Mare Serenitatis. The mare is in the outer rings of the Procellarum basin...

to the northwest.

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Sharp.
Sharp Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 47.6° N 42.6° W 17 km
B 47.0° N 45.3° W 21 km
D 44.8° N 42.1° W 8 km
J 46.9° N 37.9° W 6 km
K 47.4° N 38.5° W 5 km
L 45.8° N 38.2° W 6 km
M 47.3° N 41.4° W 4 km
U 47.4° N 48.6° W 6 km
V 46.2° N 46.9° W 7 km
W 50.2° N 45.3° W 4 km
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