Gould (crater)

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Gould
Gould crater 4120 h2.jpg
Coordinates 19°12′S17°12′W / 19.2°S 17.2°W / -19.2; -17.2 Coordinates: 19°12′S17°12′W / 19.2°S 17.2°W / -19.2; -17.2
Diameter 34 km
Colongitude 17° at sunrise
Eponym Benjamin A. Gould
Oblique view of Gould from Apollo 16, facing south Gould crater AS16-M-2489.jpg
Oblique view of Gould from Apollo 16, facing south

Gould is the remnant of a lunar impact crater formation that lies in the midst of the Mare Nubium, in the southwest quadrant of the Moon. It was named after American astronomer Benjamin A. Gould. [1] It is located to the east-northeast of the prominent crater Bullialdus, and south of the crater remnant Opelt.

Contents

This crater has been flooded by basaltic lava, and only segments of the outer rim still project above the surface of the lunar mare. The most intact section of the rim is the western quadrant, which now forms a curved ridge. There is a shorter segment of surviving rim to the northeast, which is bisected by the crater Gould P. Only small, low ridges remain to outline the original crater to the north and southeast, and the southern rim has been completely destroyed.

A catena, or chain of tiny craters, forms a line running from the southern part of the crater floor towards the eastern part. The craters are probably secondaries from Bullialdus.

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 Gould.

GouldLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A19.2° S17.0° W3 km
B20.5° S18.4° W3 km
M17.7° S17.2° W41 km
N18.4° S17.6° W17 km
P18.8° S16.6° W8 km
U18.2° S14.9° W2 km
X20.9° S16.9° W3 km
Y20.6° S15.8° W3 km
Z19.5° S15.1° W2 km

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Bullialdus (crater)

Bullialdus is a lunar impact crater located in the western part of the Mare Nubium. It was named after French astronomer Ismaël Boulliau. To the north by north-west is the broken-rimmed and lava-flooded crater Lubiniezky. South-west of Bullialdus lies the smaller crater König.

Fracastorius (crater)

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Kies (crater)

Kies is the remnant of a lunar impact crater that has been flooded by basaltic lava, leaving only a remnant of the outer rim. It was named after German mathematician and astronomer Johann Kies. It is located in the Mare Nubium almost due south of the crater Bullialdus. Northwest of Kies is König. To the south-southwest lies a lunar dome structure designated Kies Pi (π). It has a small crater at the top and is most likely volcanic in origin.

Lubiniezky (crater)

Lubiniezky is a lava-flooded lunar impact crater on the northwest edge of Mare Nubium. It was named after Polish astronomer Stanisław Lubieniecki. This feature is most readily located by finding the prominent crater Bullialdus to the southeast.

Doppelmayer (crater)

Doppelmayer is the remains of a lunar impact crater that lies on the southwest edge of Mare Humorum. It was named after the German mathematician and astronomer Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr. To the south-southeast is another flooded crater designated Lee, and to the southeast is Vitello. Just to the east-northeast of Doppelmayer lies the nearly submerged crater Puiseux.

Agatharchides (crater) Lunar impact crater

Agatharchides is a lunar impact crater located at the southern edge of Oceanus Procellarum, in the region between the Mare Humorum and Mare Nubium. To the east-southeast is the crater Bullialdus, and to the south-southwest lies Loewy. It is named after the Greek geographer Agatharchides.

Babcock (crater)

Babcock is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It was named after American astronomer Harold D. Babcock. It lies on the northeastern edge of Mare Smythii, to the southeast of Mare Marginis. To the south of Babcock is the crater Purkynĕ, and to the east-northeast lies Erro. Babcock is located in a region of the Moon's surface that is occasionally brought into view during favorable librations, although it is seen from the edge and so little detail can be discerned from an observer on the Earth.

Belʹkovich (crater) Lunar impact crater

Belʹkovich is a large lunar impact crater of the form termed a walled plain. The formation has been heavily eroded by a history of subsequent impacts, leaving it reshaped, worn, and the features softened and rounded. Belʹkovich is located along the northeastern limb of the Moon, and so its visibility is subject to libration effects. From the Earth this crater is viewed from the side, making it difficult to view it in detail.

Desargues (crater)

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Fontenelle (crater)

Fontenelle is a lunar impact crater that is located along the northern edge of Mare Frigoris, in the northern part of the Moon. To the northeast is the remnant of the crater Birmingham. Due to its location, this crater appears oval in shape when observed from the Earth because of foreshortening.

Oppolzer (crater)

Oppolzer is the remnant of a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern edge of Sinus Medii, along the meridian of the Moon. Its diameter is 41 km. It was named after the Austrian astronomer Theodor von Oppolzer. It is located within one crater diameter of the origin of the selenographic coordinate system at 0° N, 0° W. Attached to the surviving remnants of the southeast rim is the crater Réaumur. To the west-southwest is the lava-flooded walled plain Flammarion.

Capuanus (crater) Lunar impact crater

Capuanus is a lunar impact crater that lies along the southern edge of the Palus Epidemiarum. It was named after Italian astronomer F. Capuano di Manfredonia. The outer rim is eroded and indented by lesser crater impacts, with notches in the north, west, and southern parts of the rim. The interior floor has been resurfaced by basaltic lava, which is connected to the surrounding lunar mare by a narrow, crater-formed gap in the northern rim. Dotting the floor of the crater are a number of domes, which are believed to have formed through volcanic activity.

Condon (crater) Lunar impact crater

Condon is a lunar impact crater that lies on the eastern shore of the Sinus Successus, a bay along the northeast edge of Mare Fecunditatis. It was named after American physicist Edward U. Condon. It lies midway between the larger crater Apollonius to the north and the smaller Webb to the south on the Mare Fecunditatis. Condon was previously designated Webb R.

Opelt (crater)

Opelt is the lava-flooded remnant of a lunar impact crater on the Mare Nubium. It lies to the north of a similar formation named Gould and to the northeast of the prominent Bullialdus.

Wolf (crater)

Wolf is a lunar impact crater that lies in the south-central part of the Mare Nubium, a lunar mare in the southern hemisphere of the Moon. It lies to the north-northwest of the walled plain Pitatus, and east-southeast of the prominent crater Bullialdus. It is named after the German astronomer Max Wolf.

Riemann (crater)

Riemann is a lunar impact crater that is located near the northeastern limb of the Moon, and can just be observed edge-on when libration effects bring it into sight. It lies to the east-northeast of the large walled plain Gauss. To the southeast, beyond sight on the far side, is the crater Vestine.

Nicollet (crater)

Nichollet is a small, isolated lunar impact crater on the Mare Nubium, a lunar mare in the southwest quadrant of the Moon. It was named after French astronomer Joseph Nicollet. This crater is located to the north of the crater Pitatus, about midway between Wolf to the west and Birt to the east.

Cichus (crater) Lunar impact crater

Cichus is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southwestern part of the Moon, at the eastern edge of Palus Epidemiarum. Just to the northeast and nearly contacting the rim is the lava-flooded crater remnant Weiss. The crater is named after Italian astronomer Cecco d'Ascoli.

Williams (lunar crater)

Williams is the remnant of a lunar impact crater that lies to the south of the prominent crater Hercules, in the northeastern part of the Moon. The southern rim borders the Lacus Somniorum, a small lunar mare that extends to the south and west. To the southwest is the sharp-rimmed crater Grove.

Donner (crater) Lunar impact crater

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.

References

  1. "Gould (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.