LRO image | |
Coordinates | 3°54′N175°30′W / 3.9°N 175.5°W Coordinates: 3°54′N175°30′W / 3.9°N 175.5°W |
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Diameter | 59 km |
Depth | Unknown |
Colongitude | 176° at sunrise |
Eponym | Feodosiy N. Krasovskiy |
Krasovsky is an impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located about three crater diameters to the north-northwest of Daedalus. It is otherwise relatively isolated from impact craters of note, with the nearest comparable feature being Tiselius to the west-northwest.
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.
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.
Daedalus is a prominent crater located near the center of the far side of the Moon. The inner wall is terraced, and there is a cluster of central peaks on the relatively flat floor. Because of its location, it has been proposed as the site of a future giant radio telescope, which would be scooped out of the crater itself, much like the Arecibo radio telescope, but on a vastly larger scale.
The rim of this crater is relatively well-defined, and has not suffered significant impact erosion. Within the interior floor is a central peak that is offset slightly to the west of the midpoint. There are no notable craters along the rim or within the interior.
One of the faint extremities of the ray system belonging to Jackson passes less than half a crater diameter to the west of Krasovsky. The ray originates to the north-northeast.
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 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.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Krasovskiy.
Krasovskiy | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
C | 6.1° N | 173.6° W | 23 km |
F | 3.7° N | 172.5° W | 15 km |
H | 2.7° N | 171.4° W | 46 km |
J | 3.2° N | 174.1° W | 32 km |
L | 0.4° S | 174.8° W | 58 km |
N | 1.0° N | 176.0° W | 22 km |
P | 0.8° N | 177.3° W | 41 km |
T | 3.6° N | 177.1° W | 100 km |
Z | 5.9° N | 175.6° W | 15 km |
Views of satellite craters from Apollo 11:
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.
Beer is a relatively small lunar impact crater located on the Mare Imbrium, to the east of the crater Timocharis. It was named after German astronomer Wilhelm W. Beer. Just to the northwest is the matching twin Feuillée.
Réaumur is the remains of a lunar impact crater located on the southern edge of Sinus Medii. Its diameter is 51 km. It was named after the 18th century French scientist René de Réaumur. It shares an eroded rim with the similar crater Oppolzer to the northwest. It lies to the northwest of the large walled plain Hipparchus, and east of Flammarion. To the south is Gyldén, and farther to the south-southwest is Ptolemaeus.
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.
Fabry is a large lunar impact crater of the form termed a walled plain. It is located on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the northeastern limb. Parts of this area are sometimes brought into view by the effects of libration, but the terrain is seen from the edge and so not much in the way of detail can be observed.
Bell is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just past the western limb. It lies in an area of terrain that is marked by many small craters, a number of which are satellite craters of Bell listed in the table below. Bell lies within two crater diameters of Laue to the north, and to the west of the smaller Helberg.
Carver is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, due east of the walled plain Van der Waals. To the northeast is the crater Rosseland, and to the south-southeast lies Kozyrev.
d'Alembert is a large lunar impact crater located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon, to the northeast of the somewhat smaller walled plain Campbell. Astride the southwest rim of d'Alembert is Slipher. To the north is the crater Yamamoto, and to the south-southwest lies Langevin. This walled plain has the same diameter as Clavius on the near side, making it one of the largest such formations on the Moon.
Dyson is a lunar impact crater, 63 kilometers in diameter, that lies on the far side of the Moon, past the northwest limb. It is located in the northern part of the surface, to the northwest of the crater Coulomb, and east of van't Hoff.
Drebbel is a small lunar impact crater named after Cornelius Drebbel that is located to the northeast of the large walled plain Schickard, in the southwestern part of the Moon. Further to the northeast is the Lacus Excellentiae and the small crater Clausius.
Gyldén is the remnant of a lunar impact crater that is located to the northeast of the walled plain Ptolemaeus on the Moon. Its diameter is 48 km. It is named after the Finland-Swedish astronomer Hugo Gyldén. It lies along the prime meridian of the selenographic coordinate system, and less than 150 km south of the lunar equator. Nearby craters of note include Herschel to the west, the flooded Réaumur to the north, and Hipparchus to the east.
Henry is a lunar impact crater that is located to the northwest of the larger crater Cavendish, in the southeastern part of the Moon's near side. It was named after the Scottish-American scientist Joseph Henry. Less than a half diameter to the northwest is similar-sized crater Henry Frères, named for the brothers Paul and Prosper Henry.
Faye is a heavily eroded lunar impact crater in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. It is named after French astronomer Hervé Faye. It is attached to the northeastern rim of the crater Delaunay, with Donati located just a few kilometers to the northeast. It forms part of a chain of craters of increasing size to the southwest that continues with La Caille and ends with the walled plain Purbach.
Fourier is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southwestern part of the Moon's near side, just to the southeast of the crater Vieta. To the northeast is the Mare Humorum. The rim of this crater is roughly circular, but appears oval when viewed from the Earth due to foreshortening.
Lipskiy is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies just to the south of the lunar equator, and is the closest named crater to the antipode of the Earth zenith point. That is, it lies in the region of the Moon that is the most distant from the Earth. Lipskiy is located less than one crater diameter to the north of the prominent crater Daedalus. To the northeast is Krasovskiy.
Frost is a lunar impact crater that is attached to the southern rim of the walled plain Landau, and lies on the far side of the Moon. Just to the east is Petropavlovskiy, and to the northeast along the edge of Landau is Razumov. The crater Douglass is located less than a crater diameter to the west-southwest.
Pavlov is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon, approximately 143 kilometers in diameter. Located just to the north-northeast of it is the crater Levi-Civita while to the southeast is Jules Verne.
Vavilov is a prominent impact crater that is located to the west of the walled plain Hertzsprung. It is located on the far side of the Moon and cannot be viewed directly from the Earth. About a crater diameter to the northwest is the smaller Chaucer, and farther to the southwest is Sechenov.
Raimond is a lunar impact crater that lies on the Moon's far side. Less than one crater diameter to the northeast is Bredikhin, and farther to the west is McMath. To the north-northwest lies the prominent crater Jackson, which is surrounded by a large ray system. Raimond is almost completely covered by this ray material, and a pair of prominent rays cross the northeastern and southwestern portions of the crater.
Shternberg is an eroded lunar impact crater on the Moon's far side. It lies just to the west-northwest of the crater Ohm, and is completely covered by higher-albedo material from the ray system that surrounds Ohm. To the west-southwest of Shternberg is Weyl, and to the west-northwest is Comstock. Less than one crater diameter to the northeast of Shternberg is Comrie.
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.
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.
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.