Ibn Yunus (crater)

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Ibn Yunus
Ibn Yunus crater AS17-M-0259.jpg
Apollo 17 mapping camera image
Coordinates 14°06′N91°06′E / 14.1°N 91.1°E / 14.1; 91.1 Coordinates: 14°06′N91°06′E / 14.1°N 91.1°E / 14.1; 91.1
Diameter 58 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 270° at sunrise
Eponym Ibn Yunus
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 4 image of Goddard (large crater at left) and Ibn Yunus (right) Goddard crater Ibn Yunus crater 4165 h3.jpg
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 4 image of Goddard (large crater at left) and Ibn Yunus (right)

Ibn Yunus is the remains of a flooded lunar impact crater. It lies on the far side of the Moon, just past the eastern limb. It can only be viewed from Earth under conditions of favorable libration and lighting, and even then it is seen from the edge. This feature is attached to the east-southeastern outer rim of the flooded crater Goddard. It lies within the Mare Marginis, a lunar mare along the eastern limb.

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.

What survives of this crater is a low, roughly circular ridge projecting up through the mare. This ring is broken along the western and southern edges, and the interior floor is covered by a nearly level surface with a relatively low albedo.

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.

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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.