Clark (lunar crater)

Last updated
Clark
Clark crater LROC WAC.jpg
LRO WAC image
Coordinates 38°24′S118°54′E / 38.4°S 118.9°E / -38.4; 118.9 Coordinates: 38°24′S118°54′E / 38.4°S 118.9°E / -38.4; 118.9
Diameter 49 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 242° at sunrise
Eponym Alvan Clark
Alvan Graham Clark
Clementine mosaic Normal clark-large.jpg
Clementine mosaic
Oblique view from Lunar Orbiter 3, facing south Clark crater 3121 med.jpg
Oblique view from Lunar Orbiter 3, facing south
Oblique view from Apollo 17, facing east Clark crater AS17-M-3184.jpg
Oblique view from Apollo 17, facing east

Clark is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere of the Moon's far side. It is located midway between the larger walled plain Van der Waals to the south and the similar-sized crater Pizzetti to the north. It is named for American astronomer and telescope maker Alvan Clark and his son Alvan Graham Clark.

Clark has a narrow inner wall, and thus a wide interior floor. The rim is roughly circular, but eroded in places. A small crater lies across the southern rim, and a tiny pair are located along the northeastern crest. There is a slight outward bulge along the wall along the west-southwestern side. The crater floor is marked by a number of tiny craterlets but otherwise relatively featureless, having no central peak.

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 Clark.

ClarkLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
F38.4° S122.5° E27 km

Related Research Articles

Agatharchides (crater) Lunar impact crater

Agatharchides is a lunar impact crater located at the southern edge of Oceanus Procellarum, in the region between the Mare Humorum and Mare Nubium. To the east-southeast is the crater Bullialdus, and to the south-southwest lies Loewy. It is named after the Greek geographer Agatharchides.

Boole (crater) Lunar impact crater

Boole is a lunar impact crater that lies along the northwestern limb of the Moon, to the northwest of the crater Gerard. At this location it is viewed nearly from the side, and is very oblong in shape due to foreshortening. The crater formation is nearly circular, however, with a wide inner wall that has been worn and rounded due to subsequent impacts. It is named after George Boole.

Brianchon (crater) Lunar impact crater

Brianchon is a lunar impact crater that is located along the northwestern limb of the Moon. Due to its location, from the Earth the crater is seen from the edge and its visibility is somewhat affected by libration. Thus for a more detailed view, the crater must be viewed from orbit.

Boltzmann (crater) Lunar impact crater

Boltzmann is an old lunar impact crater that is located along the southern limb of the Moon, in the vicinity of the south pole. At this location the crater is viewed from the side from Earth, and so not much detail can be seen. It is located to the north of the walled plain Drygalski, and to the west of the crater Le Gentil.

Barringer (lunar crater) Lunar impact crater

Barringer is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the Far side of the Moon, named after geologist Daniel Barringer. It is attached to the north-northeastern rim of the walled basin named Apollo, and lies to the southeast of Plummer. South of Barringer, on the floor of the Apollo basin, is the crater Scobee.

Beijerinck (crater) Lunar impact crater

Beijerinck is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the south of the larger crater Chaplygin, and to the northeast of the huge walled plain Gagarin.

Berzelius (crater)

Berzelius is a lunar impact crater located in the northeast part of the Moon's near side. It lies to the southeast of the crater Franklin, and to the northwest of Geminus.

Cusanus (crater) Lunar crater

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.

Casatus (crater) Lunar impact crater

Casatus is a lunar impact crater that is located near the southern limb of the Moon. The north-northeast rim of the crater overlies a portion of the slightly larger crater Klaproth. Along the western rim, Casatus A intrudes somewhat into the interior, producing an inward-bowing rim. To the southeast of Casatus is Newton.

Carver (crater) Lunar impact crater

Carver is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, due east of the walled plain Van der Waals. To the northeast is the crater Rosseland, and to the south-southeast lies Kozyrev.

Carnot (crater)

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.

Dyson (crater) Lunar impact crater

Dyson is a lunar impact crater, 63 kilometers in diameter, that lies on the far side of the Moon, past the northwest limb. It is located in the northern part of the surface, to the northwest of the crater Coulomb, and east of van't Hoff.

Chernyshev (crater) Lunar impact crater

Chernyshev is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern part of the Moon's far side. It lies to the northeast of the crater Chandler, and to the southeast of the walled plain D'Alembert.

Euctemon (crater) Lunar impact crater

Euctemon is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern part of the Moon, along the northwest rim of the crater Baillaud. To the southwest of Euctemon is the large walled plain Meton, and to the north-northeast lies the crater De Sitter. Due to its location, Euctemon appears foreshortened when viewed from the Earth.

Comstock (crater) Lunar impact 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.

Cockcroft (crater) Lunar impact crater

Cockcroft is a lunar impact crater that is situated on the far side of the Moon from the Earth, so that it has only been observed and photographed from orbit. It lies to the northeast of the larger crater Fitzgerald, and southeast of Evershed.

Congreve (crater) Lunar impact crater

Congreve is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon relative to the Earth, and lies across the lunar equator. It lies to the west-northwest of the massive walled plain Korolev. To the southeast is the crater Icarus, and due north is Zhukovskiy.

Donner (crater)

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.

Foster is a small lunar impact crater that lies to the southeast of the larger crater Joule, on the far side of the Moon. The rim of Foster is slightly eroded, and the narrow inner walls slope directly down to the relatively dark interior floor. The rim has a small outward bulge along the southwest side. There is a small craterlet on the floor next to the northern rim. A tiny impact in the southeast part of the crater interior is surrounded by a small skirt of high albedo material, producing a bright patch.

Fridman (crater)

Fridman is the remains of a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies due south of the huge walled plain Hertzsprung, and is attached to the northeastern rim of the crater Ioffe.

References