Gaudibert (crater)

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Gaudibert
Gaudibert crater 4072 h2.jpg
Coordinates 10°54′S37°48′E / 10.9°S 37.8°E / -10.9; 37.8 Coordinates: 10°54′S37°48′E / 10.9°S 37.8°E / -10.9; 37.8
Diameter 33 km
Depth 1.6 km
Colongitude 323° at sunrise
Eponym Casimir M. Gaudibert
Apollo 12 image Gaudibert crater AS12-54-8031.jpg
Apollo 12 image
Apollo 16 image, facing south: Gaudibert in lower right, satellite craters A and B ("ghost craters") above center, and J at left. Gaudibert crater AS16-M-0683.jpg
Apollo 16 image, facing south: Gaudibert in lower right, satellite craters A and B ("ghost craters") above center, and J at left.

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

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.

Mare Nectaris lunar mare

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.

Contents

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.

Palimpsest manuscript page thats been used multiple times

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.

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 Gaudibert.

GaudibertLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A12.2° S37.9° E21 km
B12.3° S38.5° E21 km
C11.5° S37.8° E9 km
D10.5° S36.3° E5 km
H13.8° S36.7° E11 km
J11.1° S39.1° E10 km

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References

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.