MOON TOUR CASSINI CRATER

Use summer's clear nights to find a lunar crater named in honour of one of astronomy's most respected planetary observers

The Moon's 'celebrity' craters attract lots of attention because I they are so easy to spot and are dramatic in an eyepiece. But the smaller, less dramatic craters - the ones without huge mountain peaks jabbing up from their centres or bright rays of debris surrounding them can be just as fascinating if you take the time to get to know them.

One such crater is Cassini, which is perhaps the only noteworthy feature in the unremarkable lunar plain known as Palus Nebularum, just to the south of the Alpine Valley. As you might have guessed, Cassini was named after astronomer Giovanni Cassini, who, in 1675, was the first to observe the widest gap within Saturn's rings, later named the Cassini Division in his honour. In addition, Cassini discovered four of Saturn's major moons - lapetus, Tethys, Rhea and Dione and also observed markings on Mars, too. So it was no surprise when the Cassini probe, which has been orbiting Saturn since 2004, was named after him.