![]() Lunar Orbiter 4 image | |
Coordinates | 10°30′N62°42′W / 10.5°N 62.7°W Coordinates: 10°30′N62°42′W / 10.5°N 62.7°W |
---|---|
Diameter | 15.5 km |
Depth | 1.4 km |
Colongitude | 63° at sunrise |
Eponym | Galileo Galilei |
Galilaei is a lunar impact crater located in the western Oceanus Procellarum. Some distance to the southeast is the crater Reiner, while to the south-southwest is Cavalerius. Northeast of the crater is a meandering rille named the Rima Galilaei. To the southeast is the unusual Reiner Gamma formation, a swirling arrangement of light-hued ray-like material.
Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, almost all of which were formed by impacts.
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.
Oceanus Procellarum is a vast lunar mare on the western edge of the near side of the Moon. It is the only one of the lunar maria to be called an "Oceanus" (ocean), due to its size: Oceanus Procellarum is the largest of the maria, stretching more than 2,500 km (1,600 mi) across its north-south axis and covering roughly 4,000,000 km2 (1,500,000 sq mi), accounting for roughly 10.5% of the total lunar surface area.
Galilaei is relatively undistinguished, with a sharp-edged rim that has a higher albedo than the surrounding maria. The inner walls slope down to a ring of debris on the outer edges of the interior floor. There is a small central rise near the midpoint.
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.
About 40 kilometers to the south is the landing site of the Luna 9 robotic probe, the first such vehicle to make a controlled landing on the lunar surface.
Luna 9 (Луна-9), internal designation Ye-6 No.13, was an unmanned space mission of the Soviet Union's Luna programme. On 3 February 1966 the Luna 9 spacecraft became the first spacecraft to achieve a soft landing on the Moon.
Despite being the first person to publish astronomical observations of the Moon with a telescope, Galileo Galilei is honored only with this unremarkable formation.
A telescope is an optical instrument that makes distant objects appear magnified by using an arrangement of lenses or curved mirrors and lenses, or various devices used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. The first known practical telescopes were refracting telescopes invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century, by using glass lenses. They were used for both terrestrial applications and astronomy.
Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Galileo has been called the "father of observational astronomy", the "father of modern physics", the "father of the scientific method", and the "father of modern science".
Initially, the name Galilaeus had been applied by Giovanni Battista Riccioli, an Italian Jesuit who produced one of the first detailed maps of the Moon in 1651, to a large and bright nearby albedo feature (now known as Reiner Gamma). The name was transferred to its present location by Johann Heinrich Mädler in his influential Mappa Selenographica, published in collaboration with Wilhelm Beer in four parts between 1834 and 1836. Mädler's motive for this change was the fact that his lunar map did not name albedo features, forcing him to transfer Galileo's name to an insignificant nearby crater.
Giovanni Battista Riccioli was an Italian astronomer and a Catholic priest in the Jesuit order. He is known, among other things, for his experiments with pendulums and with falling bodies, for his discussion of 126 arguments concerning the motion of the Earth, and for introducing the current scheme of lunar nomenclature. He is also widely known for discovering the first double star. He argued that the rotation of the Earth should reveal itself because on a rotating Earth, the ground moves at different speeds at different times.
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a European country consisting of a peninsula delimited by the Italian Alps and surrounded by several islands. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean sea and traversed along its length by the Apennines, Italy has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. The country covers an area of 301,340 km2 (116,350 sq mi) and shares open land borders with France, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. Italy has a territorial exclave in Switzerland (Campione) and a maritime exclave in the Tunisian Sea (Lampedusa). With around 60 million inhabitants, Italy is the fourth-most populous member state of the European Union.
Reiner Gamma (γ) is a geographical feature of the Moon known as a lunar swirl. It is one of the most visible lunar swirls from Earth, visible from most telescopes. It was originally thought to be a lunar highland, but scientists eventually realized that it cast no shadow on the moon.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Galilaei.
Galilaei | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
A | 11.7° N | 62.9° W | 11 km |
B | 11.4° N | 67.6° W | 15 km |
D | 8.7° N | 62.7° W | 1 km |
E | 14.0° N | 61.8° W | 7 km |
F | 12.3° N | 66.2° W | 3 km |
G | 12.7° N | 67.1° W | 1 km |
H | 11.5° N | 68.7° W | 7 km |
J | 13.0° N | 61.9° W | 4 km |
K | 13.0° N | 62.7° W | 3 km |
L | 13.2° N | 58.5° W | 3 km |
M | 13.3° N | 56.8° W | 3 km |
S | 15.4° N | 64.7° W | 2 km |
T | 16.2° N | 61.4° W | 2 km |
V | 17.1° N | 60.3° W | 3 km |
W | 17.8° N | 60.5° W | 4 km |
Linné is a small lunar impact crater located in the western Mare Serenitatis. It was named after Swedish botanist Carl von Linné. The mare around this feature is virtually devoid of other features of interest. The nearest named crater is Banting to the east-southeast. The estimated age of this copernican crater is only a few tens of millions of years. It was earlier believed to have a bowl shape, but data from the LRO showed that it has a shape of a flattened, inverted cone. The crater is surrounded by a blanket of ejecta formed during the original impact. This ejecta has a relatively high albedo, making the feature appear bright.
Mädler is a lunar impact crater located on the mare that joins Sinus Asperitatis in the north to Mare Nectaris to the southeast. To the west is the prominent crater Theophilus, and Mädler lies amidst the outer rampart.
Daguerre is a circular formation near the north end of Mare Nectaris. To the west-northwest is the crater Mädler, and beyond it to the west is the prominent Theophilus. To the north in the rugged continental area between the maria is Isidorus.
Suess is a small lunar impact crater on the Oceanus Procellarum. It is a circular, cup-shaped feature with a higher albedo than the surroundings. The closest significant crater is Reiner, about 150 kilometers to the west-northwest. The lunar mare that surrounds Suess is marked by the rays radiating from the crater Kepler to the east-northeast.
Cardanus is a lunar impact crater that is located in the western part of the Moon, in the western part of the Oceanus Procellarum. Due to its location the crater appears very oval because of foreshortening, and it is viewed almost from the side.
Cavalerius is a prominent lunar impact crater that lies on the western edge of the Oceanus Procellarum lunar mare on the west part of the visible Moon. It nearly joins the northern rim of Hevelius to the south.
Descartes is a heavily worn lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged south-central highlands of the Moon. To the southwest is the crater Abulfeda. It is named after the French philosopher, mathematician and physicist René Descartes.
Lambert is a lunar impact crater on the southern half of the Mare Imbrium basin. It was named after Swiss polymath Johann Heinrich Lambert. It lies to the east and somewhat south of the slightly larger crater Timocharis. To the south is the smaller Pytheas, and some distance to the west-southwest is Euler.
Reiner is a lunar impact crater on the Oceanus Procellarum, in the western part of the Moon. It has a nearly circular rim, but appears oval in shape due to foreshortening. The rim edge is well-defined and has not been eroded by impacts. In the midpoint of the irregular crater floor is a central peak. Outside the rim is a hummocky rampart that extends out across the mare for about half a crater diameter.
Baco is a lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged southern highlands on the near side of the Moon. The rim and inner wall has been eroded and worn by countless minor impacts since the original formation of the crater. As a result, any terraces have been worn smooth and the rim is overlaid by several tiny craterlets. The interior floor is nearly flat, with no characteristic central peak at the midpoint and no small craters of significance.
Fontenelle is a lunar impact crater that is located along the northern edge of Mare Frigoris, in the northern part of the Moon. To the northeast is the remnant of the crater Birmingham. Due to its location, this crater appears oval in shape when observed from the Earth because of foreshortening.
Benedict is a small, bowl-shaped crater that lies on the floor of the walled basin Mendeleev. It is located near the lunar equator on the far side of the Moon from the Earth.
Baldet is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies in the lava-flooded region between the craters Cori to the north, Stoney to the southwest, and the worn walled plain Minkowski to the southeast.
Darney is a small lunar impact crater that is located on the region of the Moon where the Mare Nubium joins the Oceanus Procellarum. It was named after French astronomer Maurice Darney. To the south is the lava-flooded crater Lubiniezky. The southern rim of Darney is attached to a series of low ridges that extend to the southwest.
Condorcet is a lunar impact crater that is located in the eastern part of the Moon's near side, to the southeast of the Mare Crisium. It was named after French mathematician Marquis de Condorcet. To the northeast of Condorcet are the craters Hansen and Alhazen.
Dollond is a small lunar impact crater that is located in the central region of the Moon, to the north of the crater Abulfeda. It was named after British optician John Dollond. Due west of Dollond is Anděl. Dollond is circular and cone shaped, with a tiny floor at the midpoint of the sloping interior walls.
Moore is an impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. Like much of the far side, Moore is located in a region that has been saturated by impacts. Nearby craters of note are Larmor to the south-southwest, and Parsons about the same distance to the west.
Denning is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies about midway between the craters Levi-Civita to the south and Marconi to the north-northeast. About two crater diameters to the southeast is the huge walled plain Gagarin.
Firsov is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located to due south of the crater Lobachevskiy, and to the northwest of Abul Wáfa. The circular rim of this crater has a small outward bulge along the southern edge, and smaller bulges along the western side. The inner walls have slumped to form talus piles along the base. The low-albedo interior floor is nearly level and featureless.
Titov is a relatively small lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. The most unusual aspect of this crater is that it is located entirely within the Mare Moscoviense, one of the few maria found on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the northwest of the crater Komarov, in the northern half of the mare. It is named for cosmonaut Gherman Titov, the second person to orbit the Earth.
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.
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.
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.