Galvani (crater)

Galvani
	Oblique Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates	49°36′N84°36′W / 49.6°N 84.6°W Coordinates: 49°36′N84°36′W / 49.6°N 84.6°W
Diameter	80 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	86° at sunrise
Eponym	Luigi Galvani

Last updated November 19, 2019

Galvani is a lunar impact crater that lies close to the northwestern limb of the Moon, due south of the larger walled plain Volta. It partly overlies the southeast rim of the crater Langley, which occupies half the gap between Volta and Galvani. To the northeast is the large walled plain Repsold, and to the west-southwest, on the far side of the Moon, is the crater McLaughlin.

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.

The Moon is an astronomical body that orbits the Earth 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.

Due to its location, Galvani is viewed from an oblique angle from the Earth, and it appears highly foreshortened. The visibility of this crater is affected by libration of the Moon, so that at times this crater can be hidden from sight.

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence, Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago. Earth's gravity interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon, which is Earth's only natural satellite. Earth orbits around the Sun in 365.26 days, a period known as an Earth year. During this time, Earth rotates about its axis about 366.26 times.

In astronomy, libration is the wagging of the Moon perceived by Earth-bound observers caused by changes in their perspective. It permits an observer to see slightly different halves of the surface at different times. It is similar in both cause and effect to the changes in the Moon's apparent size due to changes in distance. It is caused by three mechanisms detailed below, two of which are causing a relatively tiny physical libration via tidal forces exerted by the Earth. Such true librations are known as well for other moons with locked rotation.

The rim of Galvani is worn and rounded, with a crater lying along the inner wall to the southwest. The southwestern rim has been modified, and appears straighter than the otherwise circular shape of the perimeter. The inner wall is wider along the western side compared to the east, and thus the midpoint of the level interior floor is offset slightly to the east. A rille from the Rimae Repsold system crosses the northeastern rim and traverses the interior, forking near the midpoint to continue towards the west-southwest and the south.

Rille is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the surface of the Moon that resemble channels. The Latin term is rima, plural rimae. Typically a rille can be up to several kilometers wide and hundreds of kilometers in length. However, the term has also been used loosely to describe similar structures on a number of planets in the Solar System, including Mars, Venus, and on a number of moons. All bear a structural resemblance to each other.

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 Galvani.

Galvani	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
B	49.5° N	89.0° W	15 km
D	47.8° N	88.3° W	13 km

Related Research Articles

Doppler is a lunar impact crater named for Christian Doppler that is located at the southern edge of the walled plain Korolev, on the far side of the Moon. To the east are the craters Das and Galois. Farther to the southwest of Doppler is Mohorovičić.

Boss is a lunar impact crater that is located along the northeast rim of the Moon's near side. Due to its location, the crater is viewed from the side by observers on the Earth, and its visibility is subject to libration effects.

Ellison is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon from the Earth. It is located just beyond the northwest limb of the Moon, to the southwest of the large walled plain Poczobutt. Due west of Ellison is the crater Coulomb.

Porter is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern part of the Moon, and lies across the northeastern rim of the huge walled plain Clavius. Although generally circular, the form of this crater has been modified by the geometry of the surface on which it was formed. The outer rim is generally lower to the southwest, where it lies on the floor of Clavius. Likewise the interior floor is flatter near this face. In contrast the northeastern floor is rougher and more uneven in the northeastern half.

Volta is a lunar impact crater near the northwest limb of the Moon. It is located south-southeast of the crater Xenophanes, and due north of the smaller Galvani. The crater Regnault lies across the western rim of Volta. Attached to the southwest rim of Volta and the southern rim of Regnault is Stokes. Lying between Volta and Stokes in the north, and Galvani in the south, is the worn Langley.

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.

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.

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.

Langley is a lunar impact crater that is located close to the northwestern limb of the Moon, and from the Earth is viewed edge-on. It is located in the gap between the crater Galvani, which lies across the southeastern rim, and Volta along the northeastern rim. Just to the northwest is Stokes.

Repsold is a lunar impact crater that is located at the western end of the Oceanus Procellarum. It lies to the northeast of the crater Galvani and southeast of the walled plain Volta. Due to its proximity to the northwestern limb of the Moon, this crater appears highly foreshortened when viewed from the Earth. It is named after Johann Georg Repsold, a German astronomer.

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.

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.

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.

Ganskiy is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southeast of the walled plain Hirayama.

Pauli is a lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side. It lies about halfway between the lunar equator and southern pole, across the southern rim of the larger walled plain Roche.

Poynting is a large lunar impact crater located on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the north-northwest of the walled plain Hertzsprung, with the crater Fersman immediately to the east and Kekulé equally near to the west-southwest.

Priestley is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon from the Earth, in the low southern latitudes. It lies to the southeast of the flooded crater Kugler.

Vavilov is a prominent impact crater that is located to the west of the walled plain Hertzsprung. It is located on the far side of the Moon and cannot be viewed directly from the Earth. About a crater diameter to the northwest is the smaller Chaucer, and farther to the southwest is Sechenov.

McLaughlin is a lunar impact crater that is located just behind the northwestern rim on the far side of the Moon. This portion of the surface is sometimes brought into view of the Earth due to libration, and the area can then be viewed from a low angle under favorable lighting conditions. McLaughlin lies to the west-southwest of the crater Galvani. About two crater diameters due west lies Rynin.

Mohorovičić is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the larger crater Doppler and the huge walled plain Korolev. To the southwest of Mohorovičić is a small lunar mare that has been named Lacus Oblivionis. Due south of it is an unnamed mountain that formed during the impact that created the South Pole-Aitken Basin.

References

Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS . Retrieved 2007-08-05.
Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report . Retrieved 2007-10-24.
Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763.
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Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
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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.

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Oblique Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates	49°36′N84°36′W / 49.6°N 84.6°W / 49.6; -84.6 Coordinates: 49°36′N84°36′W / 49.6°N 84.6°W / 49.6; -84.6
Diameter	80 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	86° at sunrise
Eponym	Luigi Galvani