Hume (crater)

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Hume
Hume Hume A Hume Z craters AS15-M-0920.jpg
Apollo 15 mapping camera image, with Hume below center, Hume A above center, and Hume Z above left of center
Coordinates 4°42′S90°24′E / 4.7°S 90.4°E / -4.7; 90.4 Coordinates: 4°42′S90°24′E / 4.7°S 90.4°E / -4.7; 90.4
Diameter 23 km
Depth None
Colongitude 270° at sunrise
Eponym David Hume
Oblique Apollo 14 image, with Hume in foreground, Hume A at right, and Hume Z above center Hume crater AS14-72-10015.jpg
Oblique Apollo 14 image, with Hume in foreground, Hume A at right, and Hume Z above center
Similar view from Apollo 17 Hume crater AS17-P-2889.jpg
Similar view from Apollo 17

Hume is a small lunar impact crater that lies along the eastern limb of the Moon, along the southeast edge of Mare Smythii. It is located just on the far side of the Moon, but it is often brought into sight from Earth due to libration. Hume lies just to the west-northwest of the much larger Hirayama, and to the northeast of the flooded crater Swasey.

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.

Moon Earths natural satellite

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.

Contents

Hume has been flooded by flows of basaltic lava, leaving only a slender rim projecting above the surface. Its interior floor is level and has the same low albedo as the lunar mare to the northwest. The rim has a wide gap at the northern end, and the floor lies open to the exterior. This feature is not marked by any overlying impacts of note.

Basalt A magnesium- and iron-rich extrusive igneous rock

Basalt is a mafic extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of magnesium-rich and iron-rich lava exposed at or very near the surface of a terrestrial planet or a moon. More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt. Basalt lava has a low viscosity, due to its low silica content, resulting in rapid lava flows that can spread over great areas before cooling and solidification. Flood basalt describes the formation in a series of lava basalt flows.

Lava Molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption

Lava is molten rock generated by geothermal energy and expelled through fractures in planetary crust or in an eruption, usually at temperatures from 700 to 1,200 °C. The structures resulting from subsequent solidification and cooling are also sometimes described as lava. The molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites, though such material located below the crust is referred to by other terms.

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.

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 Hume.

HumeLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A3.8° S90.6° E25 km
Z3.6° S90.4° E14 km

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Swasey (crater) lunar crater

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Hirayama (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.