 Topographic map of Hermite (center) by LRO's laser altimeter | |
| Coordinates | 86°10′N93°19′W / 86.17°N 93.32°W Coordinates: 86°10′N93°19′W / 86.17°N 93.32°W |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 108.64 km |
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 110° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Charles Hermite [1] |
Hermite is a lunar impact crater located along the northern lunar limb, close to the north pole of the Moon. Named for Charles Hermite, the crater was formed roughly 3.91 billion years ago. [2]
Hermite is a worn, eroded crater with a rugged outer rim that is notched and incised from past impacts. A crater overlies the southwestern rim, and the two formations have merged to share a common interior floor. A pair of small craters lies along the southern part of the rim, and a small crater is also attached near the northern end. The interior floor has been resurfaced, so that it forms a wide plain that is pock-marked by numerous tiny craterlets and low hills. There is a small crater on the floor near the northeastern wall.
In 2009, it was discovered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter that Hermite is the coldest place recorded in the solar system, with temperatures at 26 kelvins (−413 °F, −247 °C). [3] For comparison, Pluto's surface only gets down to about 43 kelvins (−382 °F, −229 °C). [4]
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Hermite.
| Hermite | Coordinates | Diameter |
|---|---|---|
| A | 87°48′N47°06′W / 87.8°N 47.1°W | 20 km |
| B | 87°08′N86°12′W / 87.14°N 86.2°W | 8.4 km [5] |
There may exist a large amount of water ice within Hermite A's permanently shadowed region (PSR), where no light from the sun ever reaches; according to a 2016 study published by the IEEE roughly two-thirds of the crater's PSR is covered with varying amounts of ice. [6] However, a 2018 study also published by the IEEE countered this claim, arguing that the method used to detect ice in the earlier study was not refined enough to conclusively identify a material as ice, and that more detailed methods were needed to determine if ice exists within Hermite A. [7] A further analysis of the crater in 2022 using data from the Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiters found that ice may exist in clusters on the walls and some parts of the floor of Hermite A. [8]
Biot is a small, bowl-shaped lunar impact crater located in the southern reaches of the Mare Fecunditatis. It is named after French astronomer Jean-Baptiste Biot."Biot (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program. It is a circular formation with a sharp-edged rim that has not been significantly worn. The inner walls slope down to a relatively small interior floor. The albedo of the wide inner walls is higher than the surrounding lunar mare, giving it a light hue. To the southeast is the crater Wrottesley.
Hansteen is a lunar impact crater that lies near the southwest edge of the Oceanus Procellarum. To the southeast is the flooded crater Billy. The rim of Hansteen is somewhat polygonal in form, especially along the eastern side. There are a few terraces along the northwestern inner wall. The inner floor contains several ridges, hills, and some grooves, many of which parallel the outer rim. There is a flat patch of lower-albedo material in the northeast part of the interior.
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Rozhdestvenskiy is a large lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, within one crater diameter of the north pole. It lies sandwiched between the craters Hermite along the eastern rim, and Plaskett which intrudes slightly into the west-southwestern rim. Just on the opposite side of the pole is the crater Peary.
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Cabeus is a lunar impact crater that is located about 100 km (62 mi) from the south pole of the Moon. At this location the crater is seen obliquely from Earth, and it is almost perpetually in deep shadow due to lack of sunlight. Hence, not much detail can be seen of this crater, even from orbit. Through a telescope, this crater appears near the southern limb of the Moon, to the west of the crater Malapert and to the south-southwest of Newton.
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