Väisälä is a tiny lunar impact crater located on a rise in the Oceanus Procellarum. Sharing the same continental island are the brilliant crater Aristarchus to the south-southeast and Herodotus to the south-southwest. Väisälä lies just to the west of the Rupes Toscanelli fault line, and the Rimae Aristarchus rille system. To the southwest is the notable Vallis Schröteri cleft.

Väisälä
Lunar crater Väisälä as seen by Lunar Orbiter 4 in 1967
Coordinates25°54′N 47°54′W / 25.90°N 47.90°W / 25.90; -47.90
Diameter8.12 km (5.05 mi)
Depthunknown
Colongitude48° at sunrise
EponymYrjö Väisälä
Vaisala's area in selenochromatic format image holding some normal (yellow)/pyroclastic(red) selenochromatic landmarks
Oblique view from Apollo 15

This formation is circular and cup-shaped, with a higher albedo than the surrounding dark surface. It was previously designated Aristarchus A before being named after prolific Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä by the IAU in 1973.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Väisälä". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. IAU/NASA/USGS. Retrieved 7 September 2023.