Lunar Orbiter 4 image | |
Coordinates | 10°54′S37°48′E / 10.9°S 37.8°E Coordinates: 10°54′S37°48′E / 10.9°S 37.8°E |
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Diameter | 33 km |
Depth | 1.6 km |
Colongitude | 323° at sunrise |
Eponym | Casimir M. Gaudibert |
Gaudibert is a lunar impact crater that lies along the northeast edge of Mare Nectaris in the eastern part of the Moon's near side. Just to the east is the Montes Pyrenaeus mountain chain, and to the northeast beyond the mountains is the crater Gutenberg. Northwest of Gaudibert is the crater pair Isidorus and Capella.
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.
Mare Nectaris is a small lunar mare or sea located south of Mare Tranquillitatis southwest of Mare Fecunditatis, on the near side of the moon. Montes Pyrenaeus borders the mare to the east and Sinus Asperitatis fuses to its northwestern edge. It is 84,000 square kilometers in size.
This crater has a low rim and an irregular interior that makes it a relatively inconspicuous formation. The rim is roughly circular but somewhat uneven in outline. On the inner floor are several ridges that divide up the interior into several minor peaks and valleys. A pair of tiny, bowl-shaped craters are attached to the southern edge of the crater rim.
To the south of Gaudibert is a formation of several ghost craters, of which the most notable are Gaudibert A and Gaudibert B. These are best viewed when the sun is at a low angle, resulting in greater contrast and shadows.
In textual studies, a palimpsest is a manuscript page, either from a scroll or a book, from which the text has been scraped or washed off so that the page can be reused for another document. Pergamene was made of lamb, calf, or goat kid skin and was expensive and not readily available, so in the interest of economy a pergamene often was re-used by scraping the previous writing. In colloquial usage, the term palimpsest is also used in architecture, archaeology, and geomorphology to denote an object made or worked upon for one purpose and later reused for another, for example a monumental brass the reverse blank side of which has been re-engraved.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Gaudibert.
Gaudibert | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
A | 12.2° S | 37.9° E | 21 km |
B | 12.3° S | 38.5° E | 21 km |
C | 11.5° S | 37.8° E | 9 km |
D | 10.5° S | 36.3° E | 5 km |
H | 13.8° S | 36.7° E | 11 km |
J | 11.1° S | 39.1° E | 10 km |
Censorinus is a tiny lunar impact crater located on a rise to the southeast of the Mare Tranquillitatis. It is named after the ancient Roman writer Censorinus. To the northeast is the crater Maskelyne.
Flamsteed is a small lunar impact crater located on the Oceanus Procellarum, which is named after British astronomer John Flamsteed. It lies almost due east of the dark-hued Grimaldi, and north-northwest of the flooded Letronne bay on the south edge of the mare.
Appleton is a heavily eroded lunar impact crater that lies in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. To the northwest are the craters Von Neumann and Campbel. The smaller Golovin lies to the northeast, while further to the southwest is the Mare Moscoviense.
Asclepi is a heavily eroded lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. The outer rim has been worn down and rounded by many millions of years of subsequent impacts, so that it is now nearly level with the surrounding terrain. As a result, the crater is now little more than a depression in the surface. The interior is nearly flat and relatively featureless.
Boyle is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the rugged far side of the Moon. It is adjacent to the larger crater Hess to the southeast, and lies about midway between the craters Alder to the north-northeast and Abbe to the south-southwest.
Biela is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged highlands of the southeastern Moon. It is named after Austrian astronomer Wilhelm von Biela. The crater lies to the east of Rosenberger, to the southeast of the Watt–Steinheil double crater.
Bowditch is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the eastern limb. It is located on a region of the lunar surface that is brought into view due to libration, but at such times the area is viewed from the edge and so not much detail can be observed. It lies just to the north of the small Lacus Solitudinis lunar mare, between the craters Titius to the southwest and Perel'man to the east-northeast.
Gioia is a lunar impact crater that is located in the vicinity of the north pole of the Moon. It is named after the Italian inventor Flavio Gioia. As it lies so close to the northern limb, it is viewed nearly from the edge making difficult to observe from the Earth. The crater is attached to the southern rim of the larger Byrd, a formation with low walls. To the south-southeast is the crater Main.
Boltzmann is an old lunar impact crater that is located along the southern limb of the Moon, in the vicinity of the south pole. At this location the crater is viewed from the side from Earth, and so not much detail can be seen. It is located to the north of the walled plain Drygalski, and to the west of the crater Le Gentil.
De La Rue is the remnant of a lunar impact crater, or possibly several merged craters, creating a formation sometimes called a walled plain. It lies in the northeastern part of the Moon on the near side, and so appears foreshortened due to its location. This formation lies to the north-northwest of the prominent crater Endymion, just beyond the eastern extreme of Mare Frigoris. The crater Strabo intrudes into the northern part of De La Rue's northern rim, and the smaller Thales is attached to the northwestern part of the wall.
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.
Belyaev is a lunar impact crater that is attached to the outer edge of the Mare Moscoviense, on the far side of the Moon. It is a worn formation with a small crater pair overlaying the southern rim, and several smaller craters across the relatively irregular interior.
Cannon is a lunar impact crater that is located near the east-northeastern limb of the Moon's near side. It lies just to the northwest of the Mare Marginis, and south-southeast of the crater Plutarch. Farther to the east-northeast is Hubble.
Casatus is a lunar impact crater that is located near the southern limb of the Moon. The north-northeast rim of the crater overlies a portion of the slightly larger crater Klaproth. Along the western rim, Casatus A intrudes somewhat into the interior, producing an inward-bowing rim. To the southeast of Casatus is Newton.
Xenophanes is a lunar impact crater that is located along the northwestern limb of the Moon. It is nearly attached to Volta, a similar formation to the south-southwest. To the northeast is the smaller crater Cleostratus. Xenophanes is significantly foreshortened when viewed from the Earth, hindering observation.
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.
Chapman is a lunar impact crater that lies just beyond the northwest rim of the Moon, on the far side as seen from the Earth. It lies to the northeast of the crater Rynin, and southward of the large walled plain Poczobutt.
Donner is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located just to the northeast of the Mare Australe, behind the southeastern limb of the Moon. During favorable librations this part of the lunar surface can be brought into view of the Earth, but the site is viewed from the edge and so not much detail can be seen.
Emden is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It is named after Jacob Robert Emden (1862-1940).
Minkowski is a crater on the far side of the Moon, in the lower latitudes of the southern hemisphere. The lunar crater lies about one crater diameter to the north-northeast of crater Lemaître, a formation of similar dimension. To the northwest of Minkowski is the flooded crater Baldet, and to the southeast lies Fizeau.
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.