Lents is a small lunar impact crater located on the far side of the Moon. It was officially named by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1970 in honor of Heinrich Friedrich Emil Lenz (1804–1865), the Baltic German–Russian physicist known for formulating Lenz's law in electromagnetism. On some older maps, the crater is referred to as "Lenz."
Location
Lents is situated at selenographic coordinates 2.72° N latitude and 102.30° W longitude, within the north-northwestern section of the extensive ejecta blanket surrounding the Mare Orientale impact basin. To the south lies the Montes Cordillera mountain ring, and to the north-northeast is the damaged crater Elvey.
Physical Characteristics
The crater has a diameter of approximately 21–22 km. It is a bowl-shaped formation with an interior floor that is about half the diameter of the crater. The depth of Lents is not well established in available datasets.
Satellite Craters
By IAU convention, satellite craters are identified by placing a letter on the side of the crater midpoint closest to Lents:
| Lents | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | 3.3° N | 101.6° W | 23 km |
| J | 3.7° S | 97.3° W | 16 km |
| K | 2.3° S | 98.8° W | 21 km |
Satellite crater Lents C is attached directly to the northeastern exterior of Lents and is of roughly the same dimension. Lents K was later officially redesignated as Kramarov by the IAU in 1991.
Surrounding Features
Approximately one crater diameter east of Lents C lies the crater Pierazzo, which produced a broad, wispy ray system extending more than 100 km in all directions. The ray material from this impact overlies both Lents C and Lents, reaching as far north as Elvey.
