Balboa (lunar crater)

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Balboa
Balboa crater 4182 h2 4182 h3.jpg
Coordinates 19°06′N83°12′W / 19.1°N 83.2°W / 19.1; -83.2
Diameter 69 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 84° at sunrise
Eponym Vasco N. De Balboa

Balboa is a lunar impact crater that is located near the western limb of the Moon. Due to foreshortening, the crater appears highly oval when viewed from the Earth. In actuality, however, the formation is relatively circular. It is comparable in size to the crater Dalton, located just to the southwest. The eastern rim of Balboa lies just to the west of the Oceanus Procellarum.

Contents

The rim of Balboa is worn and eroded, with the most intact sections along the eastern and western edges. The crater interior has been flooded with basaltic lava in the past, and the floor is marked fractures. [1] Nearby Dalton and an unnamed crater northwest of satellite crater Balboa B are similarly fractured.

Balboa A is a well-formed impact crater located just to the southeast of Balboa, with a sharp, notched rim and an irregular interior. Its diameter is only somewhat smaller than Dalton directly to the west.

Satellite craters

Satellite craters of Balboa, with Dalton Balboa + Dalton - LROC - WAC.JPG
Satellite craters of Balboa, with Dalton

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

BalboaLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A17.4° N81.9° W47 km
B20.3° N82.3° W62 km
C19.6° N79.1° W27 km
D18.2° N79.7° W40 km

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References

  1. The geologic history of the Moon, 1987, Wilhelms, Don E.; with sections by McCauley, John F.; Trask, Newell J. USGS Professional Paper: 1348. (online)