Ginzel crater and its satellite crater Ginzel L to the south | |
Coordinates | 14°18′N97°24′E / 14.3°N 97.4°E Coordinates: 14°18′N97°24′E / 14.3°N 97.4°E |
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Diameter | 55 km |
Depth | Unknown |
Colongitude | 263° at sunrise |
Eponym | Friedrich K. Ginzel |
Ginzel is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the eastern limb. It is named after the Austrian astronomer Friedrich Karl Ginzel. [1] It lies at the eastern edge of the Mare Marginis, in a region of the surface that is sometimes brought into sight of the Earth due to libration. To the north-northeast of Ginzel is the crater Popov, and Dreyer lies due south.
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.
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.
Much of the rim and interior of Ginzel have been flooded, leaving only a faint trace of the rim in the otherwise relatively level surface. The western rim projects more prominently above the surrounding irregular plain. The flooded satellite crater Ginzel L is attached to the southern part of the rim, and a small craterlet lies across the rim to the north. Within the interior is a pair of joined small craterlets in the western half. The interior is otherwise nearly featureless.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Ginzel.
Ginzel | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
G | 13.7° N | 100.2° E | 42 km |
H | 12.7° N | 100.1° E | 50 km |
L | 13.1° N | 97.8° E | 28 km |
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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.
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