Astronomy Adventure – Crater Gassendi

Crater Gassendi is a large crater that has been mostly inundated by the lunar lava that created Mare Humorum which is the circular, darker, flat area to its lower left and is thought to consist of a thick layer of basalt. The crater’s walls and its central peaks now barely crest the surface, rising anywhere from a couple of hundred yards to 1.5 miles. The deeper, smaller crater that breaches Gassendi’s upper left rim is officially titled Gassendi A but is also known as Clarkson. Near the lower portion of Mare Humorum you can barley make out the remains of the also inundated Crater Doppelmayer with just part of its walls remaining and its central peaks barely visible.