Humboldt (crater)

Humboldt
	Apollo 15 image
Coordinates	27°01′S80°58′E / 27.02°S 80.96°E
Diameter	199.46 km (123.94 mi)
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	254° at sunrise
Eponym	Wilhelm von Humboldt

Last updated September 11, 2023

Humboldt is a large lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. Due to foreshortening this formation has an extremely oblong appearance. The actual shape of the crater is an irregular circle, with a significant indentation along the southeastern rim where the prominent crater Barnard intrudes. To the north-northwest of Humboldt is the large crater Hecataeus. Phillips is attached to the western rim. The rim of Humboldt is low, worn, and irregular in outline. The central peak forms a range on the crater floor. The floor surface contains a network of rilles forming a pattern of radial spokes and concentric arcs. There are also some dark patches located near the walls to the northeast, northwest, and southeast. There is a chain of craters leading from the northwest crater rim to a distance almost as long as the crater is wide. This formation is designated Catena Humboldt. Due to its location near the lunar limb, little detail was known about this crater until it was photographed by orbiting spacecraft (mainly Lunar Orbiter 4).

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 Humboldt. Humboldt N is the largest crater within Humboldt itself, located north of the central peak. Humboldt B is located to the south of Humboldt, on the west rim of the crater Barnard.

Humboldt	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
B	30.9° S	83.7° E	21 km
N	26.0° S	80.5° E	14 km

Catena Humboldt

Catena Humboldt is a crater chain that extends northeast from crater Humboldt, and it is approximately 162 km long. It was named by the IAU in 1976.^[3] It passes between the craters Gibbs and Schorr.

Apollo 12 Views

The Apollo 12 mission in 1969 obtained many photographs of Humboldt crater. In the photos below, the central peaks appear white because of the high-Sun elevation angle. The arcuate fractures within Humboldt are evidence of the forces working on the surface of the Moon to change the lunar topography.^[4]

Apollo 15 Views

The Apollo 15 mission in 1971 obtained many more photographs of Humboldt crater.

Regional view
Oblique view of Humboldt from Apollo 15 mapping camera
Eastern crater floor. The mare-type material on the floor contains radial cracks and concentric rilles. A dark-halo area is visible at the lower left corner. Low hills of material that resemble the central peak protrude through the smooth crater floor. Bright-halo craters are also evident. The "doughnut" filling of the crater at the left margin is a rare feature.^[5]

Related Research Articles

Alphonsus is an ancient impact crater on the Moon that dates from the pre-Nectarian era. It is located on the lunar highlands on the eastern end of Mare Nubium, west of the Imbrian Highlands, and slightly overlaps the crater Ptolemaeus to the north. To the southwest is the smaller Alpetragius. The crater name was approved by the IAU in 1935.

Taruntius is a lunar impact crater on the northwestern edge of Mare Fecunditatis. It was named after ancient Roman philosopher, mathematician and astrologer Lucius Tarutius Firmanus. To the northwest is the lava-flooded crater Lawrence, and to the north lie the craters Watts and da Vinci.

Gassendi is a large lunar impact crater feature located at the northern edge of Mare Humorum. It was named after French astronomer Pierre Gassendi. The formation has been inundated by lava during the formation of the mare, so only the rim and the multiple central peaks remain above the surface. The outer rim is worn and eroded, although it retains a generally circular form. A smaller crater – Gassendi A – intrudes into the northern rim, and joins a rough uplift at the northwest part of the floor. The crater pair bear a curious resemblance to a diamond ring.

Hevelius is a low-rimmed lunar impact crater that lies at the western edge of the Oceanus Procellarum, named after the astronomer Johannes Hevelius by the IAU in 1935. The smaller but prominent crater Cavalerius is joined to the northern rim by low ridges. Due south of Hevelius is the crater Lohrmann and the dark-hued Grimaldi.

Korolev is a large lunar impact crater of the walled plain or basin type. It is a basin of Nectarian age.

Apollo, also called the Apollo basin, is an enormous impact crater located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. This formation dwarfs the large crater Oppenheimer that is located next to the western rim. The crater Barringer lies across the northern wall. To the southeast is the crater Anders, and Kleymenov is just to the east of the rim.

Artamonov is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. Its eroded outer rim does not have the circular shape of most lunar craters, but the overall shape of three or four merged craters. The largest is in the south, with smaller circular bulges to the north and east.

Fabry is a large lunar impact crater of the form termed a walled plain. It is located on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the northeastern limb. Parts of this area are sometimes brought into view by the effects of libration, but the terrain is seen from the edge and so not much in the way of detail can be observed.

Haldane is a lunar impact crater that is located in Mare Smythii, near the eastern limb of the Moon. The visibility of this formation is affected by libration, and even under favorable conditions it is highly foreshortened. It lies just to the west-northwest of the crater Runge, and to the east of Carrillo. The small crater Talbot is immediately to the southwest of Haldane.

Damoiseau is a lunar impact crater that is located just to the west of the Oceanus Procellarum, in the western part of the Moon's near side. It lies due east of the prominent crater Grimaldi, a walled plain with a distinctive dark floor. Due south of Damoiseau is the crater Sirsalis.

Hecataeus is a large lunar impact crater that lies near the eastern limb of the Moon. It is attached to the northern rim of the walled plain Humboldt. To the northeast is the smaller crater Gibbs. East of Hecataeus is a chain of small craters forming a line radial to Humboldt; these are designated the Catena Humboldt, named after the walled plain.

Davisson is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon from the Earth. This crater lies across the eastern rim of the huge walled plain Leibnitz, and the rim and outer rampart intrudes into the interior floor of Leibnitz. To the east-northeast of Davisson is the walled plain Oppenheimer, a formation only somewhat smaller than Leibnitz.

Mendeleev is a large lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, as seen from the Earth. The southern rim of this walled plain just crosses the lunar equator. Intruding into the eastern rim of Mendeleev is the crater Schuster. Nearly on the opposite side, the smaller Hartmann intrudes into west-southwestern rim.

Oppenheimer is a large lunar impact crater that lies on the Far side of the Moon. It lies along the western outer rampart of the immense walled plain Apollo. Nearby features of note include the dark-floored crater Maksutov to the southwest, and Davisson to the west-southwest. The latter intrudes into the eastern rim of Leibnitz, a feature about 20% larger than Oppenheimer.

Mons Hadley is a massif in the northern portion of the Montes Apenninus, a range in the northern hemisphere of the Moon. It has a height of 4.5 km (2.8 mi) 14,764 ft (4,500 m) above the adjacent plain and a maximum diameter of 25 km at the base.

Nobili is a lunar impact crater that lies near the eastern limb of the Moon, giving it a foreshortened appearance when viewed from the Earth. The crater overlies the western rim of the slightly larger crater Schubert X, and the eastern rim of this satellite crater is overlain in turn by Jenkins, resulting in a triple crater formation. To the south lies Gilbert.

Dobrovolʹskiy is a small lunar impact crater on the Moon's far side. The northwest part of its rim is intruded upon by the somewhat larger crater Shirakatsi, and the outer rampart of that feature covers most of the interior floor of Dobrovolʹskiy. Very little of the original floor now survives, with a small section near the southern inner wall. The remainder of the crater rim is somewhat circular and only mildly worn.

Gregory is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the southeast of the crater Ibn Firnas, and north-northeast of Bečvář. About one crater diameter to the north is the smaller Morozov.

Planté is a lunar crater that is situated near the eastern inner wall of the much larger crater Keeler. Just to the east, attached to the exterior of Keeler, is the large crater Heaviside. Planté is located on the far side of the Moon and cannot be viewed directly from the Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prager (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Prager is an impact crater on the Moon's far side. It is located just to the northeast of the crater Love. Farther to the south-southeast lies Lane. To the north of this crater and leading away to the northwest is a crater chain that has been designated Catena Gregory.

References

↑ Humboldt, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
↑ The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. By Don E. Wilhelms, John F. McCauley, and Newell J. Trask. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington: 1987. Table 11.2.
↑ Catena Humboldt, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
↑ Apollo 12 Preliminary Science Report , NASA Special Publication 235, 1970. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
↑ Apollo 15 Preliminary Science Report NASA Special Publication 289, 1972. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS . Retrieved 2007-08-05.
Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report . Retrieved 2007-10-24.
Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID 122125855.
Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Humboldt, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)

[2] The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. By Don E. Wilhelms, John F. McCauley, and Newell J. Trask. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington: 1987. Table 11.2.

[3] Catena Humboldt, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)

[4] Apollo 12 Preliminary Science Report , NASA Special Publication 235, 1970. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

[5] Apollo 15 Preliminary Science Report NASA Special Publication 289, 1972. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Apollo 15 image
Coordinates	27°01′S80°58′E / 27.02°S 80.96°E / -27.02; 80.96
Diameter	199.46 km (123.94 mi)
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	254° at sunrise
Eponym	Wilhelm von Humboldt