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Coordinates | 19°40′S149°21′E / 19.66°S 149.35°E |
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Diameter | 265 km |
Depth | 4.8 km |
Colongitude | 215° at sunrise |
Eponym | Yuri Gagarin |
Gagarin is a large lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. To the southwest is the crater Pavlov and to the northeast lies Keeler. Closer to the rim are the craters Levi-Civita to the southwest, and Beijerinck to the north-northeast. Isaev lies entirely within the northwest rim of Gagarin. In contrast with the floor of Gagarin, Isaev has a floor with a somewhat low albedo.[ citation needed ]
The crater is named after Yuri Gagarin, the cosmonaut who was the first human in space and the first to orbit the Earth. [1] The six craters falling within the perimeter of Gagarin have also been named after pioneers of Russian aviation and astronautics, including Isaev, Grave, Balandin, Raspletin, Kosberg, and Andronov.[ citation needed ]
Gagarin has been heavily eroded by a long history of crater impacts. The worn rim forms a low, circular ridge around the somewhat bowl-shaped interior. The inner floor is covered by a multitude of crater impacts of various dimensions. Little if anything remains of a central ridge, if the crater ever possessed such a feature.[ citation needed ]
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Gagarin.[ citation needed ]
Gagarin | Coordinates | Diameter, km |
---|---|---|
G | 20°31′S150°32′E / 20.51°S 150.54°E | 14 |
M | 23°31′S149°10′E / 23.51°S 149.17°E | 18 |
T | 19°20′S144°45′E / 19.33°S 144.75°E | 26 |
Z | 15°19′S149°36′E / 15.31°S 149.60°E | 27 |
Dawes is a lunar impact crater located in the wide straight between Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquilitatis. To its southwest lies the larger crater Plinius, and to its northeast sits the Mons Argaeus mountain rise. It is named after British astronomer William Rutter Dawes.
Andronov is a small lunar impact crater that lies across the southwest rim of the walled plain named Gagarin. It is located on the southern hemisphere of the far side of the Moon, and can not be seen directly from the Earth. Just to the west of Andronov is the crater Levi-Civita.
Armiński is a small lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, to the northeast of the large walled basin Gagarin. To the northwest of Armiński is the crater Beijerinck, and to the southeast lies Cyrano.
Banachiewicz is a largely degraded lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon.
Carmichael is a lunar impact crater that is located along the eastern edge of the Sinus Amoris, in the northeastern quadrant of the Moon's near side. Its diameter is 20 km. It was named after American psychologist Leonard Carmichael. It lies within a couple of crater diameters south-southwest of the smaller crater Hill. Further to the east-northeast is the prominent crater Macrobius. Carmichael was designated Macrobius A before being given its current name by the IAU.
Gilbert is a large lunar impact crater that lies near the eastern limb of the Moon. Due to its location this feature appears foreshortened when viewed from the Earth, limiting the amount of detail that can be observed. The crater lies to the northwest of the similar-sized walled plain Kästner, to the west of the Mare Smythii.
Geissler is a small lunar impact crater that lies on the northern floor of the much larger walled plain Gilbert, near the eastern limb of the Moon. Just to the northeast of this crater, attached to the outer rim of Gilbert, is the crater pair of Weierstrass and Van Vleck.
Esclangon is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged terrain to the northwest of the prominent crater Macrobius, and east of Sinus Amoris. Its diameter is 15 km. It was named after French astronomer Ernest Esclangon. This formation was previously designated Macrobius L. Just to the west-southwest is the crater Hill. Lacus Bonitatis, the Lake of Good, is located to the east and northeast of Esclangon.
Fermi is a large lunar impact crater of the category named a walled plain. It was named after Italian-American physicist and Nobel laureate Enrico Fermi. It lies on the far side of the Moon and can not be viewed from the Earth. Thus this feature must be viewed from an orbiting spacecraft.
Kästner is a lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon, to the southwest of the Mare Smythii. Just to the northwest of Kästner is the walled plain Gilbert. To the south is the prominent crater Ansgarius, and to the southwest lies La Pérouse.
Warner is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern part of the Mare Smythii, near the eastern limb of the Moon. In this location the crater is viewed almost from the edge from Earth, and is sometimes hidden from sight due to libration. The crater lies just to the south-southeast of the very similar Runge. To the southwest is Widmannstätten, and to the south is the merged Kao–Helmert crater pair.
Danjon is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies less than a crater diameter to the east-southeast of the larger crater Langemak. To the east-northeast of Danjon is the crater Perepelkin, and due south lies the walled plain Fermi.
Grave is a lunar impact crater that lies in the northern interior floor of the huge walled plain Gagarin, on the far side of the Moon. It is located about 10 kilometers to the east-northeast of the larger crater Isaev, which covers the northwestern part of Gagarin's interior.
Sklodowska (Skłodowska) is a large lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies just past the southeastern limb, and can sometimes be viewed from Earth under favorable conditions of libration and illumination. The crater is located to the northeast of the older walled plain Curie, and to the southwest of Pasteur, another walled plain.
Isaev is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is entirely contained within the much larger walled plain Gagarin, and lies in the northwestern part of Gagarin's interior floor. The northwestern outer rim of Isaev is attached to the inner rim of Gagarin.
Raspletin is a lunar impact crater that is located along the southeastern inner edge of the much larger walled plain Gagarin, on the far side of the Moon.
Kosberg is a small lunar impact crater that is located near the middle of the huge walled plain Gagarin, which lies on the far side of the Moon and cannot be viewed directly from the Earth. Kosberg is a flat-bottomed crater with a circular outer rim, simple sloping inner walls, and a somewhat hummocky interior floor. Kosberg also lies just to the west of a similarly sized, but deeper and more prominent bowl-shaped crater, Gagarin G.
Volkov is a lunar impact crater on the Moon's far side. It is located to the north of the prominent crater Tsiolkovskiy, and east-southeast of Dobrovol'skiy. Overlying the southeastern rim of Volkov is the satellite crater Volkov J, and the two have merged to form a figure-8 shape. The crater Lander is attached to the southwest rim of Volkov J, making this a triple-crater formation.
Wróblewski is a small lunar impact crater that lies just to the southeast of the huge walled plain Gagarin. The crater Raspletin lies along the rim of Gagarin just to the northwest of Wroblewski. To the south-southeast is Sierpinski. As with many lunar craters of this size, Wroblewski is roughly circular and bowl-shaped. It has undergone some wear along the rim edge from subsequent impacts.
Neujmin is a lunar impact crater on the Moon's far side. It is nearly attached to the west-southwest of the smaller crater Waterman, and lies to the southwest of the prominent Tsiolkovskiy.
Lunar Topographic Orthophotomaps: