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Clementine mosaic | |
Coordinates | 58°42′N146°06′W / 58.7°N 146.1°W Coordinates: 58°42′N146°06′W / 58.7°N 146.1°W |
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Diameter | 345 km |
Depth | Unknown |
Colongitude | 156° at sunrise |
Eponym | George Birkhoff |
Birkhoff is a giant lunar walled plain that is located on the far side of the Moon, in the northern hemisphere. This formation is an ancient impact site that has been heavily eroded, and the surface reshaped by multiple craters in the interior and along the rim. The outer wall is bordered by the craters Carnot to the south, Rowland along the west rim, and Stebbins to the north. Just to the northeast is van't Hoff.
What remains of the perimeter is now a rugged sloping rise along the inner wall, and the rim has been worn down until it is level with the irregular external terrain. The rim is pock-marked by small craters of various dimensions. Within the crater are several craters that are notable in their own right. Along the northwest inner rim is the eroded Birkhoff X, while due south in the southwest floor is Birkhoff Q. The later is joined by a low ridge to the double crater formation of Birkhoff K and L in the eastern half of the crater. In the northern interior are the smaller but relatively young Birkhoff Y and Z. The remainder of the floor is flat in places, with rough sections and many tiny craterlets.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Birkhoff.
Birkhoff | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
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K | 57.8° N | 144.3° W | 58 km |
L | 56.6° N | 144.8° W | 37 km |
M | 54.7° N | 144.8° W | 23 km |
Q | 56.6° N | 150.8° W | 43 km |
R | 57.5° N | 153.0° W | 27 km |
X | 62.1° N | 149.7° W | 77 km |
Y | 59.9° N | 146.6° W | 25 km |
Z | 61.3° N | 145.3° W | 30 km |
Appleton is a heavily eroded lunar impact crater that lies in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. To the northwest are the craters Von Neumann and Campbel. The smaller Golovin lies to the northeast, while further to the southwest is the Mare Moscoviense.
Boss is a lunar impact crater that is located along the northeast rim of the Moon's near side. Due to its location, the crater is viewed from the side by observers on the Earth, and its visibility is subject to libration effects.
Doerfel is a lunar impact crater that is located in the vicinity of the southern pole, just on the far side of the Moon. It lies approximately midway between the large crater Hausen to the east-northeast and the even larger Zeeman to the southwest.
Brisbane is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southeastern part of the Moon, to the south of the crater Peirescius. To the northwest lie the craters Vega and Reimarus, and farther to the east is the walled plain Lyot. Due to its proximity to the limb, foreshortening of this crater causes it to appear somewhat elliptical in shape, even though it is actually circular.
Bhabha is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern part of the Moon's far side. It is nearly attached to the southeast rim of the larger crater Bose, and the outer rampart of that crater has produced a slight inward bulge along the northwest face of Bhabha. Other nearby craters of note include Stoney to the east, and Bellinsgauzen to the south.
Cusanus is a lunar impact crater that is located near the northeastern limb of the Moon. In this location the crater appears very foreshortened when observed from the Earth, and its visibility is affected by libration. The northern rim of Cusanus is nearly joined to the south-southeastern rim of the larger crater Petermann. To the west is Baillaud and to the southeast is Hayn.
Chebyshev is a large lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. The somewhat smaller crater Langmuir is intruding into the east-southeastern rim of Chebyshev, forming a chain of large craters with Brouwer on Langmuir's eastern rim.
Carnot is a large crater in the northern part of the Moon's far side. It intrudes into the southern rim of the huge walled plain Birkhoff. To the west-southwest of Carnot is the crater Paraskevopoulos.
Chapman is a lunar impact crater that lies just beyond the northwest rim of the Moon, on the far side as seen from the Earth. It lies to the northeast of the crater Rynin, and southward of the large walled plain Poczobutt.
Coriolis is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. The crater floor is bisected by the lunar equator, and it lies about three crater diameters northwest of the crater Daedalus.
Chaplygin is a large lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the southeast of the huge walled plain Mendeleev, about midway between the craters Schliemann to the northeast and Marconi to the southwest. It is about the same size as Albategnius on the near side.
Chang Heng is a lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side. It lies less than one crater diameter to the northeast of the walled plain Fleming. The rim of this crater is somewhat eroded, with a pair of small craters along the northern rim and tiny craters along the south and east edges. The interior floor contains a small, concentric crater that is about one third the diameter of Chang Heng. The crater is named after Chinese astronomer Zhang Heng.
Cockcroft is a lunar impact crater that is situated on the far side of the Moon from the Earth, so that it has only be observed and photographed from orbit. It lies to the northeast of the larger crater Fitzgerald, and southeast of Evershed.
Fourier is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southwestern part of the Moon's near side, just to the southeast of the crater Vieta. To the northeast is the Mare Humorum. The rim of this crater is roughly circular, but appears oval when viewed from the Earth due to foreshortening.
Donner is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located just to the northeast of the Mare Australe, behind the southeastern limb of the Moon. During favorable librations this part of the lunar surface can be brought into view of the Earth, but the site is viewed from the edge and so not much detail can be seen.
Finsen is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere, on the Moon's far side. It is attached to the southeastern exterior of the walled plain Leibnitz, and the ejecta from Finsen covers the southeastern part of Leibnitz's interior floor. To the southwest of Finsen is another walled plain, Von Kármán, partly overlain by Leibnitz.
Frost is a lunar impact crater that is attached to the southern rim of the walled plain Landau, and lies on the far side of the Moon. Just to the east is Petropavlovskiy, and to the northeast along the edge of Landau is Razumov. The crater Douglass is located less than a crater diameter to the west-southwest.
Sommerfeld is a large lunar impact crater that is located in the far northern latitudes of the Moon. It lies on the far side, and can only be viewed from orbit. To the south of Sommerfeld is Rowland, a crater about the same size as Sommerfeld. Southeast of Sommerfeld is the huge walled plain Birkhoff.
Stebbins is a large lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located along the north-northeastern rim of the even larger crater Birkhoff, with about one-third of Stebbins laid across the interior of Birkhoff. To the north of Stebbins is the smaller Hippocrates, and to the west is Sommerfeld.
van 't Hoff is a lunar impact crater named after Dutch chemist Jacobus H. van 't Hoff and is located to the northeast of the walled plain Birkhoff, on the far side of the Moon. To the northwest is the crater Stebbins, and to the east lies the smaller Dyson.