Hedin (crater)

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Hedin
Hedin crater 4174 h1.jpg
Coordinates 2°00′N76°30′W / 2.0°N 76.5°W / 2.0; -76.5 Coordinates: 2°00′N76°30′W / 2.0°N 76.5°W / 2.0; -76.5
Diameter 150 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 77° at sunrise
Eponym Sven A. Hedin
Clementine mosaic of Hedin. Eroded crater rim is practically invisible at this high sun angle, but the dark mare deposit is prominent. Hedin crater Clementine UVVIS 750nm.jpg
Clementine mosaic of Hedin. Eroded crater rim is practically invisible at this high sun angle, but the dark mare deposit is prominent.

Hedin is a lunar impact crater of the dimension traditionally termed a walled plain. It lies due south of the crater pair Olbers and Glushko, and northwest of the similarly dimensioned walled plain Riccioli. To the east is another walled plain, Hevelius.

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.

Olbers (crater) lunar crater

Olbers is a lunar impact crater that lies at the west edge of the Oceanus Procellarum, near the western limb of the Moon. It lies to the northwest of the crater Hevelius, and to the north of the indistinct Hedin. Farther to the south is the crater Riccioli. Due to its location, this crater appears very oblong because of foreshortening. It is viewed nearly edge-on, making observation of the interior difficult from the Earth.

This crater has a deteriorated outer rim that has been worn down and reshaped through impact erosion. Several small craters lie along or near the rim, including Hedin F to the northeast and Hedin H to the southeast.

The interior floor has been scored by the impact event that created the Mare Orientale to the southeast. But these features are cross-hatched by a pair of linear rilles that follow a path towards the southeast. Only a section of the floor along the northwest rim is relatively level, retaining the low albedo of ground that has been resurfaced by lava.

Mare Orientale Lunar mare on the western border of the near side and far side of the Moon

Mare Orientale is a lunar mare. It is located on the western border of the near side and far side of the Moon, and is difficult to see from an Earthbound perspective. Images from spacecraft have revealed it to be one of the most striking large scale lunar features, resembling a target ring bullseye.

Rille fissure, especially on the Moon

Rille is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the surface of the Moon that resemble channels. The Latin term is rima, plural rimae. Typically a rille can be up to several kilometers wide and hundreds of kilometers in length. However, the term has also been used loosely to describe similar structures on a number of planets in the Solar System, including Mars, Venus, and on a number of moons. All bear a structural resemblance to each other.

Albedo ratio of reflected radiation to incident radiation

Albedo is the measure of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation out of the total solar radiation received by an astronomical body. It is dimensionless and measured on a scale from 0 to 1.

This crater is sometimes referred to as "Sven Hedin" in older publications.

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 Hedin.

HedinLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A5.5° N78.1° W60 km
B4.4° N83.7° W20 km
C4.4° N84.6° W10 km
F4.0° N74.4° W19 km
G3.8° N73.4° W14 km
H3.0° N72.2° W11 km
K2.9° N73.0° W11 km
L5.1° N71.3° W10 km
N4.9° N71.7° W24 km
R5.3° N75.9° W7 km
S5.7° N75.1° W8 km
T4.2° N72.8° W7 km
V5.2° N73.7° W9 km
Z1.9° N78.9° W10 km

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Poynting (lunar crater) lunar crater

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Vavilov (crater) lunar crater

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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.