Ingalls (crater)

Last updated
Ingalls
Coordinates 26°24′N153°06′W / 26.4°N 153.1°W / 26.4; -153.1 Coordinates: 26°24′N153°06′W / 26.4°N 153.1°W / 26.4; -153.1
Diameter 37 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 154° at sunrise
Eponym Albert G. Ingalls

Ingalls is an old lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the north-northwest of the walled plain Mach. About the same distance to the west is the crater Joule.

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.

This crater has been heavily damaged by subsequent impacts, leaving little more than an irregular depression in the surface. The outer rim is rounded and pock-marked by small impacts. The interior floor is a nearly featureless surface with a few tiny craterlets. Faint traces of ray material from the crater Jackson, some distance to the west-southwest, lie across the northern rim of Ingalls.

Ray system

A ray system comprises radial streaks of fine ejecta thrown out during the formation of an impact crater, looking somewhat like many thin spokes coming from the hub of a wheel. The rays may extend for lengths up to several times the diameter of their originating crater, and are often accompanied by small secondary craters formed by larger chunks of ejecta. Ray systems have been identified on the Moon, Earth, Mercury, and some moons of the outer planets. Originally it was thought that they existed only on planets or moons lacking an atmosphere, but more recently they have been identified on Mars in infrared images taken from orbit by 2001 Mars Odyssey's thermal imager.

Jackson (crater) prominent lunar impact crater

Jackson is a prominent lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. Less than one crater to the northeast is the crater Mineur, and to the south-southwest lies McMath.

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 Ingalls.

IngallsLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
G25.8° N150.4° W55 km
M24.0° N153.0° W27 km
U27.3° N156.2° W28 km
V27.4° N155.3° W27 km
Y29.7° N154.1° W23 km
Z30.3° N153.3° W25 km

Related Research Articles

Anaximenes (crater) impact crater

Anaximenes is a low-rimmed lunar impact crater near the north-northwest limb of the Moon. It lies to the west of the crater Philolaus, and northeast of Carpenter. To the northwest is Poncelet, close to the visible edge of the Moon.

Abul Wafa (crater) impact crater

Abul Wafa is an impact crater located near the lunar equator on the far side of the Moon, named after the Persian mathematician and astronomer Abu al-Wafa' Buzjani. To the east are the crater pair Ctesibius and Heron. In the northeast lies the larger crater King, and to the southwest is Vesalius.

Abel (crater) Lunar crater

Abel is an ancient lunar impact crater that lies near the southeast limb of the Moon's near side. It is located to the south of the crater Barnard, at the northwest edge of the Mare Australe.

Alekhin (crater) lunar crater

Alekhin is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the north of the crater Zeeman, and south-southeast of Fizeau. To the west lies Crommelin, and east-southeast is Doerfel.

Asclepi (crater) impact crater

Asclepi is a heavily eroded lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. The outer rim has been worn down and rounded by many millions of years of subsequent impacts, so that it is now nearly level with the surrounding terrain. As a result, the crater is now little more than a depression in the surface. The interior is nearly flat and relatively featureless.

Barrow (crater) lunar impact crater

Barrow is an old lunar impact crater that is located near the northern limb of the Moon. It lies between the crater Goldschmidt to the northwest and the irregular formation Meton to the northeast. To the southwest is W. Bond.

Crommelin (lunar crater) lunar crater

Crommelin is an ancient lunar impact crater that is located in the vicinity of the south pole of the Moon, on the far side. It lies to the north of the large crater Zeeman, and to the east-northeast of Numerov.

Fizeau (crater) lunar crater

Fizeau is a prominent lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, in the southern hemisphere. Nearby craters of note include Minkowski to the west-northwest, and Eijkman to the southwest.

Chamberlin (lunar crater) lunar crater

Chamberlin is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just past the southeastern limb. It lies to the southeast of the crater Jeans, and Moulton is attached to the southeastern rim of Chamberlin. This crater is located in a part of the lunar surface that has undergone resurfacing of crater interiors, producing dark-hued crater floors.

Baldet (lunar crater) impact crater

Baldet is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies in the lava-flooded region between the craters Cori to the north, Stoney to the southwest, and the worn walled plain Minkowski to the southeast.

De Roy (crater) lunar crater

De Roy is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just behind the southwestern limb. This portion of the lunar surface is brought into view during favorable librations, allowing observation of this formation. However the crater is viewed from the side when watched from the Earth, and little detail can be seen. De Roy lies to the west of the crater Arrhenius, and east of the larger Boltzmann.

Casatus (crater) impact crater

Casatus is a lunar impact crater that is located near the southern limb of the Moon. The north-northeast rim of the crater overlies a portion of the slightly larger crater Klaproth. Along the western rim, Casatus A intrudes somewhat into the interior, producing an inward-bowing rim. To the southeast of Casatus is Newton.

Darwin (lunar crater) Lunar impact crater

Darwin is a lunar impact crater of the type categorised as a walled plain. It lies in the southeastern part of the Moon, and is sufficiently close to the limb to appear significantly foreshortened when viewed from the Earth. Attached to its southern rim is Lamarck. To the northeast is the dark-floored crater Crüger.

Cleostratus (crater) impact crater

Cleostratus is a lunar impact crater near the northwest limb of the Moon. It lies to the northeast of the crater Xenophanes, and west-southwest of the prominent Pythagoras. From the Earth this crater appears highly elongated due to foreshortening.

Cannizzaro (crater) lunar crater

Cannizzaro is a lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side as seen from the Earth, just beyond the northwestern limb. It lies in a region of the surface that is sometimes brought into view due to the effects of libration, but not much detail can be seen since this feature is viewed from the side. The crater lies across the southwestern rim of the much larger-walled plain Poczobutt.

Chadwick (crater) lunar crater

Chadwick is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon's surface, just beyond the southwestern limb. It is located to the northwest of the crater De Roy, and was previously designated De Roy X before being given its current name by the IAU. This region of the lunar surface lies at the southern end of the ejecta blanket that surrounds the Mare Orientale impact basin.

Cooper is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the east of the large walled plain D'Alembert, and west-southwest of the crater Chappell.

Chandler (crater) impact crater

Chandler is a lunar impact crater in the northern hemisphere, on the Moon's far side. It lies to the southeast of the large walled plain D'Alembert, and southeast of the slightly smaller Chernyshev crater.

Franz (crater) lunar crater

File: Franz is a small lunar impact crater identified during the Apollo mission in August 1971 and located along the eastern edge of the Sinus Amoris, a bay that forms a northern extension to the Mare Tranquillitatis. Its diameter is 25 km. It was named after German astronomer Julius Heinrich Franz. It lies to the southwest of the prominent crater Macrobius. To the north is the smaller Carmichael, and to the northwest is the diminutive Theophrastus.

Donner (crater) lunar crater

Donner is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located just to the northeast of the Mare Australe, behind the southeastern limb of the Moon. During favorable librations this part of the lunar surface can be brought into view of the Earth, but the site is viewed from the edge and so not much detail can be seen.

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.