Amundsen (crater)

Amundsen

Clementine image (1994)
Coordinates	84°30′S82°48′E / 84.5°S 82.8°E / -84.5; 82.8
Diameter	103.39 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	272° at sunrise
Eponym	Roald Amundsen

Lunar Orbiter 4 image (1967)

Amundsen is a large lunar impact crater located near the south pole of the Moon, named after the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. It lies along the southern lunar limb, and so is viewed from the side by an observer on the Earth. To the northwest is the crater Scott, a formation of similar dimensions that is named for another Antarctic explorer. Nobile is attached to the western rim. ^[1]

The rim of Amundsen is slightly distended along the southern edge, and the terraced inner surface is wider at that point than elsewhere along the outer wall. The crater overlaps a smaller crater formation to the northwest, and Hédervári is attached to the northern rim. Just to the south of Amundsen is the smaller crater Faustini.

The inner floor is relatively flat, with a pair of central peaks near the midpoint. Much of the crater floor is cloaked in shadow during the lunar day, with only the southern floor and the central peaks receiving sunlight.

Amundsen Crater hosts 82 square kilometers of carbon dioxide cold traps, where temperatures remain below 60 K (−213 °C; −352 °F), potentially containing solid carbon dioxide. ^[2] Such areas could be high-priority target sites for future landed missions. ^[3]

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Amundsen.

The crater formerly named Amundsen A is now known as Hédervári.

Feature	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter	Ref
Amundsen A(dropped)	81.8° S	83.1° E	—	WGPSN
Amundsen C	80.7° S	83.2° E	24.22 km	WGPSN

See also

• 1065 Amundsenia, Mars-crossing asteroid

References

1. "Amundsen (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
2. Schorghofer, Norbert; Williams, Jean-Pierre; Martinez-Camacho, Jose; Paige, David A.; Siegler, Matthew A. (2021). "Carbon Dioxide Cold Traps on the Moon". Geophysical Research Letters. 48 (20). American Geophysical Union (AGU). Bibcode:2021GeoRL..4895533S. doi: 10.1029/2021gl095533 . ISSN   0094-8276.
3. Paul Hayne, a planetary scientist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, quoted in: Carbon dioxide cold traps on the moon are confirmed for the first time, https://phys.org/news/2021-11-carbon-dioxide-cold-moon.html

• Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
• Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS . Retrieved 2007-08-05.
• Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-81528-4.
• Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN   978-0-936389-27-1.
• McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report . Retrieved 2007-10-24.
• Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID   122125855.
• Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN   978-0-304-35469-6.
• Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-33500-3.
• Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN   978-0-913135-17-4.
• Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN   978-0-486-20917-3.
• Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-62248-6.
• Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN   978-1-85233-193-1.

External links

• Media related to Amundsen (crater) at Wikimedia Commons