Gamow (crater)

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Gamow
Normal gamow-clem1.jpg
Clementine mosaic
Coordinates 65°18′N145°18′E / 65.3°N 145.3°E / 65.3; 145.3 Coordinates: 65°18′N145°18′E / 65.3°N 145.3°E / 65.3; 145.3
Diameter 129 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 215° at sunrise
Eponym George Gamow

Gamow is a large lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located in the northern hemisphere, to the southeast of the walled plain Schwarzschild. The crater is named after the Russian-American physicist George Gamow. [1]

Lunar craters

Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, almost all of which were formed by impacts.

Impact crater Circular depression on a solid astronomical body formed by a hypervelocity impact of a smaller object

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.

Moon Earths natural satellite

Earth's Moon is an astronomical body that orbits the planet and acts 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.

This is a worn and eroded feature, with a rim that has been battered and overlain by multiple impacts. Gamow V is attached to the western exterior, and the joined crater pair Gamow A and Gamow B overlie the northeastern side. The eastern rim is the most damaged section, while the rim to the west is free from impacts. The western inner wall does display a fine radial groove texture, but is otherwise nearly featureless. Near the midpoint is a palimpsest, or ghost-crater feature consisting of just the rim projecting up through the otherwise relatively level surface.

Palimpsest (planetary astronomy) type of crater whose relief has disappeared

A palimpsest, in planetary astronomy, is an ancient crater on an icy moon of the outer Solar System whose relief has disappeared due to creep of the icy surface or subsequent cryovolcanic outpourings, leaving a circular albedo feature, perhaps with a "ghost" of a rim. Icy surfaces of natural satellites like Callisto and Ganymede preserve hints of their history in these rings. A typical example is Memphis Facula on Ganymede, a 340 km wide palimpsest.

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the etter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Gamow.

GamowLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A67.3° N148.8° E31 km
B66.4° N149.5° E26 km
U66.7° N137.0° E39 km
V66.3° N139.7° E49 km
Y67.8° N143.9° E27 km

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Schjellerup (crater) lunar crater

Schjellerup is a lunar impact crater that is located in the far northern latitudes on the Moon's far side. This crater lies to the southwest of the larger Karpinskiy, and to the northeast of Gamow. To the northwest of Schjellerup is the crater Seares and to the south-southeast lies Avogadro.

References

  1. "Gamow on Moon". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
Ewen Whitaker British astronomer

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.

NASA space-related agency of the United States government

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.

United States Geological Survey Scientific agency of the United States government

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.