LRO WAC image | |
Coordinates | 53°48′S103°42′E / 53.8°S 103.7°E Coordinates: 53°48′S103°42′E / 53.8°S 103.7°E |
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Diameter | 65 km |
Depth | Unknown |
Colongitude | 254° at sunrise |
Eponym | Franz X. Kugler |
Kugler is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It is located just past the southeast limb of the Moon's surface, in the proximity of the libration zone that is occasionally brought into sight. The crater lies in the midpoint between the craters Anuchin to the north-northwest and Priestley to the south-southeast.
Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, almost all of which were formed by impacts.
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.
A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space that is the surface of a completely round ball.
In the past the floor of this crater has been flooded by basaltic lava, leaving a dark (low albedo) surface that is level and nearly featureless except for a wrinkle ridge that crosses the crater. The surviving rim is low and heavily worn, with a number of old crater indentations along the edge. Attached to the western rim is the smaller Kugler U, an old, worn formation. To the south is the double-crater formation Kugler N, which has also been flooded by lava.
Basalt is a mafic extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of magnesium-rich and iron-rich lava exposed at or very near the surface of a terrestrial planet or a moon. More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt. Basalt lava has a low viscosity, due to its low silica content, resulting in rapid lava flows that can spread over great areas before cooling and solidification. Flood basalt describes the formation in a series of lava basalt flows.
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 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.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Kugler.
Kugler | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
N | 56.3° S | 102.8° E | 42 km |
R | 55.5° S | 98.6° E | 13 km |
U | 54.0° S | 101.5° E | 37 km |
Bonpland is the remains of a lunar impact crater that is attached to the walled plain Fra Mauro to the north and Parry to the east. The intersection of their rims forms a three-pointed mountainous rise. To the southeast is the small crater Tolansky. Bonpland lies on the eastern edge of Mare Cognitum. It is named after Aimé Bonpland, a French explorer and botanist.
de Gasparis is a lunar crater that is located in the southwest part of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the crater Cavendish and south of Mersenius.
Doppelmayer is the remains of a lunar impact crater that lies on the southwest edge of Mare Humorum. It was named after the German mathematician and astronomer Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr. To the south-southeast is another flooded crater designated Lee, and to the southeast is Vitello. Just to the east-northeast of Doppelmayer lies the nearly submerged crater Puiseux.
Flammarion is a lunar impact crater on the south edge of Sinus Medii. Its diameter is 76 km. It is named after the French astronomer Camille Flammarion. It is located between the crater Mösting to the northwest and Herschel to the southeast. The bowl-shaped Mösting A intersects the western rim of Flammarion.
Baillaud is a lunar impact crater that is located near the north limb of the Moon. The rim of the crater has been eroded and worn by a long history of impacts, leaving a hilly ridge surrounding the interior. The crater Euctemon is intruding into the rim to the northeast, and the rim bulges outward to the northwest. At the south end of the crater is a gap connecting to the lava-flooded surface to the south.
Byrd is an irregular lunar impact crater that is located near the north pole of the Moon. The north rim of Byrd is nearly connected to the crater Peary, a formation that is adjacent to the pole. The smaller crater Gioja is attached to the remains of the southwest rim.
Balboa is a lunar impact crater that is located near the western limb of the Moon. Due to foreshortening, the crater appears highly oval when viewed from the Earth. In actuality, however, the formation is relatively circular. It is comparable in size to the crater Dalton, located just to the southwest. The eastern rim of Balboa lies just to the west of the Oceanus Procellarum.
Joliot is a large lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, just past the eastern limb. At this location it lies in a region of the surface that comes into sight during a favorable libration, although at such times it is viewed from the side. Thus viewing this crater in detail must be done from orbit.
Billy is a lunar impact crater that is located at the southern fringes of the Oceanus Procellarum, in the western hemisphere of the Moon. It was named after French mathematician Jacques de Billy. It lies to the southeast of the similar-sized crater Hansteen, and west-southwest of the flooded Letronne.
Bel'kovich is a large lunar impact crater of the form termed a walled plain. The formation has been heavily eroded by a history of subsequent impacts, leaving it reshaped, worn, and the features softened and rounded. Bel'kovich is located along the northeastern limb of the Moon, and so its visibility is subject to libration effects. From the Earth this crater is viewed from the side, making it difficult to view it in detail.
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 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.
Bolyai is an old lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. To the southeast of Bolyai is the crater Eötvös, and to the north is Neujmin. It is named after the 19th century Hungarian mathematician János Bolyai.
Loewy is a small lunar impact crater that lies along the eastern rim of Mare Humorum, in the southwest part of the Moon's near side. It was named after French astronomer Maurice Loewy. This is a lava-flooded formation that lies to the southwest of the larger, lava-flooded crater Agatharchides. To the southeast is an even larger lava-flooded formation, Hippalus.
Cook is a lunar impact crater that lies in the western part of the Mare Fecunditatis, just to the southeast of the prominent crater Colombo. To the southwest is Monge.
Pascal is a lunar impact crater that lies near the northern limb of the Moon, on the western side of the pole. It is located to the north of the eroded crater Desargues, and just east of Brianchon. Pascal can be located by finding the crater Carpenter and then following the surface to the northwest towards the limb. However the visibility of this formation can be affected by libration.
Chevallier is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon's near side, about a crater diameter east-southeast of the prominent crater Atlas. To the south-southeast of Chevallier is the flooded crater Shuckburgh.
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.
Priestley is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon from the Earth, in the low southern latitudes. It lies to the southeast of the flooded crater Kugler.
Lebedev is a crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located at the eastern edge of the irregular feature known as Mare Australe. The crater lies to the southeast of the larger, flooded Lamb, and to the east-northeast of Anuchin. To the southeast of Lebedev lies the smaller crater Cassegrain.
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.