Copernicus crater

Copernicus, named after Nicolaus Copernicus, is one of the more prominent craters on the Moon. Copernicus is a large young crater visible with binoculars slightly northwest of the center of the Moon's Earth-facing hemisphere (20°W by 9°N). Copernicus is distinguished by its size and by the many bright rays pointing out from it. Copernicus is relatively young for a lunar crater, formed nearly a billion years ago by a colossal impact. The center of Copernicus is about 93 kilometers across.

The formation of this crater marks the beginning of the Copernician period of the lunar geologic timescale.

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There is also a crater named Copernicus on Mars.

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