Campbell (lunar crater)

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Campbell
Campbell LROC.jpg
LRO WAC image
Coordinates 45°18′N151°24′E / 45.3°N 151.4°E / 45.3; 151.4 Coordinates: 45°18′N151°24′E / 45.3°N 151.4°E / 45.3; 151.4
Diameter 219 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 212° at sunrise
Eponym Leon Campbell
William W. Campbell
Oblique view from Lunar Orbiter 5, facing west Campbell crater 5124 med.jpg
Oblique view from Lunar Orbiter 5, facing west

Campbell is a large lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the walled plain D'Alembert, an even larger formation. If Campbell were located on the near side of the Moon as seen from the Earth, it would form one of the largest visible craters, being slightly larger than Schickard. It is bordered by several craters of note, with Wiener to the southwest, Von Neumann just to the south, Ley overlying the southeast rim, and Pawsey to the west.

Lunar craters

Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, almost all of which were formed by impacts.

Impact crater Circular depression on a solid astronomical body formed by a hypervelocity impact of a smaller object

An impact crater is an approximately circular depression in the surface of a planet, moon, or other solid body in the Solar System or elsewhere, formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller body. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters typically have raised rims and floors that are lower in elevation than the surrounding terrain. Impact craters range from small, simple, bowl-shaped depressions to large, complex, multi-ringed impact basins. Meteor Crater is a well-known example of a small impact crater on Earth.

Moon Earths natural satellite

Earth's Moon is an astronomical body that orbits the planet and acts as its only permanent natural satellite. It is the fifth-largest satellite in the Solar System, and the largest among planetary satellites relative to the size of the planet that it orbits. The Moon is, after Jupiter's satellite Io, the second-densest satellite in the Solar System among those whose densities are known.

This formation has been heavily worn and eroded by a history of impacts, leaving a circular rim that is an irregular ring of ridges and peaks. Multiple small craters lie along the rim and the inner wall, as well as across the interior floor. The most notable of these are Campbell X along the northeast inner rim and Campbell N near the southern inner wall.

Much of the inner floor is covered by a multitude of lesser impacts; the exception being a wide patch of the floor that has been resurfaced by basaltic lava. This area has a lower albedo than its surroundings, thus appearing dark. It stretches from the center of Campbell towards the western rim, and has an irregular perimeter.

Basalt A magnesium- and iron-rich extrusive igneous rock

Basalt is a mafic extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of magnesium-rich and iron-rich lava exposed at or very near the surface of a terrestrial planet or a moon. More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt. Basalt lava has a low viscosity, due to its low silica content, resulting in rapid lava flows that can spread over great areas before cooling and solidification. Flood basalt describes the formation in a series of lava basalt flows.

Lava Molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption

Lava is molten rock generated by geothermal energy and expelled through fractures in planetary crust or in an eruption, usually at temperatures from 700 to 1,200 °C. The structures resulting from subsequent solidification and cooling are also sometimes described as lava. The molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites, though such material located below the crust is referred to by other terms.

Albedo ratio of reflected radiation to incident radiation

Albedo is the measure of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation out of the total solar radiation received by an astronomical body. It is dimensionless and measured on a scale from 0 to 1.

There is an unusual crater lying to the south of Campbell and to the west of Von Neumann. This is formed by two or more overlapping craters, the most recent being Wiener F, a nearly hexagonal formation with a rugged interior.

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 Campbell.

CampbellLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A52.2° N155.2° E20 km
E46.4° N158.6° E15 km
N43.2° N152.3° E23 km
X47.7° N149.4° E24 km
Z48.8° N152.9° E28 km

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Appleton (crater) lunar crater

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Beals (crater) lunar crater

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Dawson (crater) crater

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Compton (crater) lunar crater

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Bowditch (crater) lunar crater

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De La Rue (crater) impact crater

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Buffon (crater) lunar crater

Buffon is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies a crater diameter south of the large walled plain Chebyshev. To the northeast is the crater Langmuir and to the southwest is Leavitt. Buffon lies nearly at the midpoint between these formations.

Demonax (crater) impact crater

Demonax is a lunar impact crater near the southern limb of the Moon. This location makes the crater difficult to observe due to foreshortening. The crater is also illuminated at a very low angle, when it is in the sunlit side. Demonax lies just to the north of the crater Scott, one of the south polar formations. To the north-northwest is Boguslawsky.

Chebyshev (crater) lunar crater

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.

Clairaut (crater) lunar crater

Clairaut is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon's near side. It lies directly to the south of the crater Maurolycus and southeast of Barocius. Just to the southwest is Cuvier.

dAlembert (crater) also named after the above

d'Alembert is a large lunar impact crater located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon, to the northeast of the somewhat smaller walled plain Campbell. Astride the southwest rim of d'Alembert is Slipher. To the north is the crater Yamamoto, and to the south-southwest lies Langevin. This walled plain has the same diameter as Clavius on the near side, making it one of the largest such formations on the Moon.

Chandler (crater) impact crater

Chandler is a lunar impact crater in the northern hemisphere, on the Moon's far side. It lies to the southeast of the large walled plain D'Alembert, and southeast of the slightly smaller Chernyshev crater.

Comstock (crater) lunar crater

Comstock is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the northeast of the walled plain Fersman, and north of the crater Weyl.

Von Neumann (crater) lunar crater

Von Neumann is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, in the northern hemisphere, named after polymath John von Neumann. It is nearly attached to the south-southeastern rim of the walled plain Campbell. The crater Ley is attached to the northeastern rim of Von Neumann, and is somewhat overlain by the outer rampart. To the west is the prominent Wiener, and to the south-southwest is Nikolayev.

Fersman (crater) lunar crater

Fersman is a large lunar impact crater on the Moon's far side. It lies to the east of the crater Poynting, and west-northwest of Weyl. To the south is the huge walled plain Hertzsprung.

Fowler (crater) impact crater

Fowler is a large lunar impact crater that lies in the northern hemisphere on the Moon's far side. It lies to the south-southwest of the crater Esnault-Pelterie, and north of Gadomski. Overlying the eastern rim and intruding into the interior is Von Zeipel.

Kurchatov (crater) lunar crater

Kurchatov is a lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side. It is just to the southwest of the crater Wiener, and farther to the southeast of Bridgman. A couple of crater diameters to the south of Kurchatov is the northern edge of the Mare Moscoviense.

Ley (crater) lunar crater

Ley is a lunar impact crater that is located across the southern rim of the much larger walled plain Campbell. Intruding into the south-southwestern rim of Ley is the slightly larger crater Von Neumann. The debris from the formation of Von Neumann has produced a bulging rampart that occupies the southwest interior floor of Ley. The outer rim of Ley has undergone impact erosion, and is marked by a number of small craters. The inner wall is also worn, and the interior floor is pock-marked by a number of small craters. There is a small, cup-shaped crater on the floor to the northwest of the midpoint.

Wiener (crater) lunar crater

Wiener is a lunar impact crater that lies on the Moon's far side. It is located just to the southwest of the larger crater Campbell. To the southwest of Wiener is the heavily worn Kurchatov. To the east along the rim of Campbell is Von Neumann. The smaller crater Pawsey lies to the north-northwest, and is partly overlain by the outer rampart of Wiener.

References

Ewen Whitaker British astronomer

Ewen Adair Whitaker was a British-born astronomer who specialized in lunar studies. During World War II he was engaged in quality control for the lead sheathing of hollow cables strung under the English Channel as part of the "Pipe Line Under The Ocean" Project (PLUTO) to supply gasoline to Allied military vehicles in France. After the war, he obtained a position at the Royal Greenwich Observatory working on the UV spectra of stars, but became interested in lunar studies. As a sideline, Whitaker drew and published the first accurate chart of the South Polar area of the Moon in 1954, and served as director of the Lunar Section of the British Astronomical Association.

NASA space-related agency of the United States government

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.

United States Geological Survey Scientific agency of the United States government

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The USGS is a fact-finding research organization with no regulatory responsibility.