Linné (crater)


Linné is a small lunar impact crater located in the western Mare Serenitatis. It was named after Swedish botanist Carl von Linné. The mare around this feature is virtually devoid of other features of interest. The nearest named crater is Banting to the east-southeast.
The estimated age of this copernican crater is only a few tens of millions of years. It was earlier believed to have a bowl shape, but data from the LRO showed that it has a shape of a flattened, inverted cone. The crater is surrounded by a blanket of ejecta formed during the original impact. This ejecta has a relatively high albedo, making the feature appear bright.
image
In 1824 Wilhelm Lohrmann of Dresden had drawn Linné as an 8 km diameter crater in his acclaimed lunar atlas, and in 1837 Wilhelm Beer and Johann Heinrich Mädler had described Linne in Der Mond as a 10 km crater. In 1866, the experienced lunar observer and mapmaker Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt made the surprising claim that Linné had changed its appearance. Instead of a normal, somewhat deep crater it had become a mere white patch. A controversy arose that continued for many decades. However, this crater size tests the limit of visual perception of Earth-based telescopes. In conditions of poor seeing this feature can appear to vanish from sight .

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 Linné.
LinnéLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A28.9° N14.4° E4 km
B30.5° N14.2° E5 km
D28.7° N17.1° E5 km
F32.3° N13.9° E5 km
G35.9° N13.3° E5 km
H33.7° N13.8° E3 km

The following craters have been renamed by the IAU.