Karrer (crater)

Last updated
Karrer
Karrer crater 5026 h1.jpg
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image
Coordinates 52°06′S141°48′W / 52.1°S 141.8°W / -52.1; -141.8 Coordinates: 52°06′S141°48′W / 52.1°S 141.8°W / -52.1; -141.8
Diameter 51 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 144° at sunrise
Eponym Paul Karrer

Karrer is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the northeast of the crater Minkowski, and south of Leavitt.

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.

Sphere round geometrical and circular object in three-dimensional space; special case of spheroid

A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space that is the surface of a completely round ball.

The most notable feature of this crater is the dark-hued floor, created when the interior was resurfaced by lava flows that had a lower albedo than the surrounding terrain. The outer rim is nearly circular, but broken in the northeast by a smaller overlapping crater. The inner wall has the same albedo as the surrounding terrain, and marks the perimeter of the flooded floor. The rim is somewhat worn, particularly in the north next to the overlapping crater. On the floor is a lobate scarp that was formed as a result of contraction of the lava. The scarp extends southward across the middle of the crater, past the rim and onto the surrounding highlands. [1]

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.

Terrain Vertical and horizontal dimension and shape of land surface

Terrain or relief involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin word terra means "earth."

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Artamonov (crater) lunar crater

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Hess (crater) lunar crater

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Condorcet (crater) impact crater

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Bolyai (crater) lunar crater

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Cayley (crater) impact crater

Cayley is a small lunar impact crater that is located in a lava-flooded region to the west of Mare Tranquillitatis. It was named after the 19th century British mathematician Arthur Cayley. It lies to the northwest of the smaller crater De Morgan and the larger D'Arrest. West and slightly north of Cayley is Whewell, a crater of about the same dimensions. To the north is a linear rille designated Rima Ariadaeus, which follows a course to the east-southeast.

Campbell (lunar crater) impact crater

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Chevallier (crater) impact crater

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Schwabe (crater) impact crater

Schwabe is a small lunar impact crater that is located in the northern part of the Moon. It ies to the southeast of the much larger crater Arnold, and east-northeast of Democritus.

Schumacher (crater) impact crater

Schumacher is a lunar impact crater that lies in the northeast part of the Moon, just to the north of the larger walled plain Messala. The two formations are separated by a rough strip of terrain less than 10 kilometers across, and bisected by a pair of small, co-joined craters. The northern member of this pair lies across the southern rim of Schumacher, and intrudes into the interior floor.

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.

Hubble (crater) moon crater

Hubble is a lunar impact crater that lies very near the east-northeastern limb of the Moon. At this location it is viewed almost from the side from Earth, and the visibility of this feature is affected by libration. It lies to the north of the Mare Marginis and northeast of the crater Cannon. About one crater diameter to the north-northeast is Lyapunov.

Pauli (crater) impact crater

Pauli is a lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side. It lies about halfway between the lunar equator and southern pole, across the southern rim of the larger walled plain Roche.

References

  1. "Featured Image: a section of a lobate scarp inside Karrer crater". Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. NASA. March 10, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-18.

Sources

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.