Coordinates | 88°30′S87°06′W / 88.5°S 87.1°W |
---|---|
Diameter | 32.4 km (20.1 mi) |
Depth | Unknown |
Colongitude | 105° at sunrise |
Eponym | Adrien de Gerlache |
de Gerlache is a lunar impact crater that is located along the southern limb of the Moon, within a crater diameter of Shackleton at the south pole. From the Earth this crater is seen from the edge, and it lies in perpetual darkness. Thus little or no detail can be seen of this crater, other than the edge of the rim. However, the crater is clearly visible in Earth-based radar images. [1] The crater is roughly circular, with some slight wear. No craters of note overlie the rim, although some formations may be attached to the southern and western edges.
The crater was identified by Jean-Luc Margot and Donald B. Campbell who jointly proposed the name to the International Astronomical Union. The name, honoring the Belgian explorer Adrien de Gerlache, was adopted by the IAU in 2000. [2] In April 2023, a smaller crater on the floor of de Gerlache was named Brill by the IAU. [3]
Born is a small lunar impact crater located near the eastern edge of the Moon, to the northeast of the prominent crater Langrenus. It was previously designated Maclaurin Y before being named by the IAU in 1979. Maclaurin itself lies to the north.
Arrhenius is a lunar impact crater that is located just on the far side of the Moon, near the southwest limb. In this location the vicinity of the crater can be viewed during favorable librations, although it is viewed from on edge. To the south-southeast is the worn crater Blanchard, and De Roy lies further to the west.
Atwood is a small earth moon impact crater that is located on the Mare Fecunditatis, to the northwest of the prominent crater Langrenus. It forms a triple-crater formation with Naonobu attached to the north rim and Bilharz near the west rim.
Back is a small lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. It lies on the northwest edge of the Mare Smythii, and the northeast rim is adjacent to the crater Schubert. To the west is Jenkins, and to the southwest is the Weierstrass–Van Vleck crater pair.
Beals is a lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon, and lies across the southwestern rim of the crater Riemann. From the Earth the crater is viewed nearly from on edge, and is best seen during favorable librations. To the west is the large walled plain Gauss.
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.
Fabry is a large lunar impact crater of the form termed a walled plain. It is located on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the northeastern limb. Parts of this area are sometimes brought into view by the effects of libration, but the terrain is seen from the edge and so not much in the way of detail can be observed.
Cabeus is a lunar impact crater that is located about 100 km (62 mi) from the south pole of the Moon. At this location the crater is seen obliquely from Earth, and it is almost perpetually in deep shadow due to lack of sunlight. Hence, not much detail can be seen of this crater, even from orbit. Through a telescope, this crater appears near the southern limb of the Moon, to the west of the crater Malapert and to the south-southwest of Newton.
De Forest is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located in the far southern hemisphere, to the west of the large walled plain Zeeman and due south of the crater Numerov. Because of its proximity to the southern pole, this crater receives sunlight at an oblique angle when it is on the illuminated half of the Moon.
Shoemaker is a lunar impact crater located near the southern pole of the Moon, within half a crater diameter of Shackleton.
Carnot is a large crater in the northern part of the Moon's far side. It was named after Nicolas L. S. Carnot by the IAU in 1970.
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.
Chappe is a lunar impact crater that lies along the southwestern limb of the Moon. It is nearly attached to the northern limb of the walled plain Hausen, and an equal distance from the crater Pilâtre. To the north-northwest is Blanchard.
Nobile is a lunar impact crater that is located near the southern pole of the Moon, named after the Italian aviator and explorer Umberto Nobile. It lies to the south of the crater Scott, along the western rim of Amundsen. Between Nobile and the southern pole lie the smaller craters Shoemaker and Faustini.
Delporte is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It overlies part of the northwestern rim of the huge walled plain Fermi, and the crater Litke is nearly attached to the southeastern rim.
Florensky is a lunar impact crater that is attached to the northeastern rim of the larger crater Vernadskiy. It is located on the far side of the Moon and cannot be directly seen from the Earth. The rim of this crater has been heavily eroded and it forms an irregular ring about the uneven interior. This crater was previously identified as Vernadskiy B before being assigned a name by the IAU in 1985.
Sverdrup is a lunar impact crater that is located about one crater diameter from the southern pole of the Moon. It lies on the far side of the Moon with respect to the Earth, in an area of the surface that is only illuminated by very oblique light from the Sun. The interior part of the crater is cloaked in perpetual darkness, and thus has not been mapped using photography. Portions of the rim are illuminated, however, and give the appearance of a worn formation that has been intruded upon by adjacent formations.
Kibalʹchich is a crater on the Moon's far side. It lies to the northeast of the large walled plain Korolev, and is attached to the southeastern outer rim of the crater Tsander.
Olcott is a relatively fresh crater on the far side of the Moon. It was named after American astronomer William Tyler Olcott. It lies to the south-southeast of the craters Seyfert and Polzunov, and to the north of Kostinskiy.
Wapowski is a lunar impact crater located on the lunar near side near the southern pole. The crater is located Southwest of craters von Baeyer and Svedberg just inside the rim of the prominent Scott crater. Wapowski was adopted and named after Polish cartographer Bernard Wapowski by the IAU in 2009.