Geological Chronicle
Elvey lies on the Moon’s far side, near the northern edge of the ejecta blanket surrounding the Mare Orientale impact basin. The smaller crater Nobel is to its north. The crater is named for Christian Thomas, an American astronomer and geophysicist.
Elvey is damaged, with a rim that remains intact only in part along the east. The rest is irregular and less distinct. This condition may have been created by ejecta from the Mare Orientale impact to the south. A pair of small craters lies along the northwestern rim.
Less than two crater diameters south of Elvey, a small crater’s impact site lies at the focus of a ray system. The rays extend more than 200 km in all directions. At the center, higher-albedo material forms a bright skirt; farther out, the rays grow progressively more wispy.
A second ray system lies farther northwest. It is larger but less distinct than the first, and the systems criss-cross across terrain containing Elvey.