Knox-Shaw (crater)

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Knox-Shaw
Normal Knox-Shaw AS-16-M-2901 LTVT.jpg
Apollo 16 image
Coordinates 5°18′N80°12′E / 5.3°N 80.2°E / 5.3; 80.2 Coordinates: 5°18′N80°12′E / 5.3°N 80.2°E / 5.3; 80.2
Diameter 12 km
Colongitude 280° at sunrise
Eponym Harold Knox-Shaw
Oblique Apollo 11 image of Knox-Shaw Knox-Shaw crater AS11-43-6475.jpg
Oblique Apollo 11 image of Knox-Shaw

Knox-Shaw is a small lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon, and lies on the eastern floor of the walled plain Banachiewicz. It was named after British astronomer Harold Knox-Shaw. [1]

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.

Knox-Shaw is a bowl-shaped formation of the type that is found over much of the lunar surface. The rim is circular and the inner walls slope down to a small interior floor at the midpoint. It is not significantly eroded and has no other distinguishing features.

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References

  1. "Knox-Shaw (crater)" . Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
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.

Ben J. Bussey is an American planetary scientist.