A low, worn rim rings Gagarin’s cratered floor

Feature Profile & Selenographic Data

Feature type

crater

Coordinates

19.66° S · 149.35° E

Diameter

261.83 km

IAU approval

1970/01/01 00:00:00

LAC quadrangle

LAC-102 · Gagarin

Geological Period

Pre-Nectarian

Geological Chronicle

Gagarin lies in the Moon’s southern hemisphere, on the far side. Pavlov is southwest and Keeler northeast; Levi-Civita lies closer to the southwest rim, while Beijerinck is north-northeast. Isaev sits entirely within Gagarin’s northwest rim, and its floor has a somewhat low albedo.

Gagarin dates to the Pre-Nectarian period and has been heavily eroded by crater impacts. Its worn rim forms a low circular ridge around a somewhat bowl-shaped interior. Impacts of many sizes cover the floor, and little if anything remains of a central ridge, if the crater ever had one.

The IAU named the crater in 1970 for Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet cosmonaut described as the first human in space and the first to orbit Earth. Before the name was adopted, the crater was called Basin X.

Chronology & Exploration

1. Pre-Nectarian Formation period

   Gagarin dates to the Pre-Nectarian period of the lunar geologic timescale.

2. Before 1970 Earlier designation

   Before naming, Gagarin was called Basin X.

3. 1970 IAU name adopted

   The IAU named the crater for Yuri Gagarin.

Scientific Sources & References

• International Astronomical Union Gazetteer — Registry record for the crater’s identity, coordinates, diameter, quadrangle and name origin.
• Wikipedia: Gagarin (crater) — Localized source text for the crater’s setting, morphology, age and naming history.

Name Origin

Yury Alekseyevich; Soviet cosmonaut (1934-1968).