Balmer (crater)

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Balmer
BalmerCrater LRO.jpg
LRO image
Coordinates 20°06′N70°36′E / 20.1°N 70.6°E / 20.1; 70.6 Coordinates: 20°06′N70°36′E / 20.1°N 70.6°E / 20.1; 70.6
Diameter 112 km
Depth None
Colongitude 288° at sunrise
Eponym Johann J. Balmer

Balmer is the lava-flooded remains of a lunar impact crater. Only the heavily worn southern and eastern sections of the crater still survive; the remainder being overlaid by a lava flow that joins to the nearby mare. Balmer lies to the east-southeast of the crater Vendelinus.

Contents

Balmer was considered a Constellation Region of Interest. [1] Light plains deposits overly mare basalt, as evidenced by multiple dark-halo craters. [2]

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 Balmer.

BalmerLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
M20.7° S71.5° E5 km
N19.9° S69.9° E8 km
P20.4° S67.7° E13 km
Q18.7° S70.5° E7 km
R18.7° S69.1° E4 km
S18.4° S67.6° E6 km

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Lee (crater)

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Tsiolkovskiy (crater) Lunar impact crater

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Apollo (crater)

Apollo is an enormous impact crater located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. This formation dwarfs the large crater Oppenheimer that is located next to the western rim. The crater Barringer lies across the northern wall. To the southeast is the crater Anders, and Kleymenov is just to the east of the rim.

DArrest (crater) Lunar crater

D'Arrest is a lunar impact crater that is located in the lava-flooded region to the west of the Mare Tranquillitatis. It is named after the German astronomer Heinrich Louis d'Arrest. It lies to the southeast of the crater Agrippa and northwest of Delambre. Just to the northeast are the small, bowl-shaped craters De Morgan and Cayley.

Bowditch (crater)

Bowditch is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the eastern limb. It is located on a region of the lunar surface that is brought into view due to libration, but at such times the area is viewed from the edge and so not much detail can be observed. It lies just to the north of the small Lacus Solitudinis lunar mare, between the craters Titius to the southwest and Perel'man to the east-northeast.

Cayley (crater)

Cayley is a small lunar impact crater that is located in a lava-flooded region to the west of Mare Tranquillitatis. It was named after the 19th century British mathematician Arthur Cayley. It lies to the northwest of the smaller crater De Morgan and the larger D'Arrest. West and slightly north of Cayley is Whewell, a crater of about the same dimensions. To the north is a linear rille designated Rima Ariadaeus, which follows a course to the east-southeast.

Cook (crater)

Cook is a lunar impact crater that lies in the western part of the Mare Fecunditatis, just to the southeast of the prominent crater Colombo. To the southwest is Monge.

Crozier (crater)

Crozier is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southwest edge of Mare Fecunditatis, a lunar mare in the eastern part of the Moon's near side. It lies to the east-northeast of the prominent crater Colombo, and southeast of the small crater Bellot.

Daubrée (crater)

Daubrée is a lunar impact crater that is located to the southwest of the Mare Serenitatis, just to the west-southwest of the crater Menelaus in the Montes Haemus range. The small lunar mare Lacus Hiemalis lies along the southwest rim of Daubrée. The crater was named after French geologist Gabriel A. Daubrée. It was previously designated Menelaus S.

Raman (crater)

Raman is a small lunar impact crater that lies on the western edge of a plateau feature in the expansive lunar mare named Oceanus Procellarum. It shares this plateau with the lava-flooded Herodotus and Aristarchus to the southeastern. To the northeast of Raman is the small peak named Mons Herodotus. To the northwest on the mare is the long, narrow range named the Montes Agricola.

Widmannstätten (crater)

Widmannstätten is a lunar impact crater in the southern part of the Mare Smythii, near the eastern limb of the Moon. The rim of this crater has a wide gap along the western side, where it is joined to the larger Kiess. There is also a gap in the northern rim where the crater floor is joined to the adjacent lunar mare. The dark interior floor of this formation has been flooded by lava, leaving a level interior surface and a shallow surviving rim.

References

  1. Two-toned Impact Crater in Balmer Basin: A Reflection of the Target?, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera article, 26 March 2010.
  2. Hawke, B. R., J. J. Gillis, T. A. Giguere, D. T. Blewett, D. J. Lawrence, P. G. Lucey, G. A. Smith, P. D. Supdis, G. J. Taylor (2005) Remote sensing and geologic studies of the Balmer-Kapteyn region of the Moon, Journal of Geophysical Research, 110. doi:10.1029/2004JE00283.