Landau (crater)

Landau
	Landau from orbit.
Coordinates	41°36′N118°06′W / 41.6°N 118.1°W Coordinates: 41°36′N118°06′W / 41.6°N 118.1°W
Diameter	214 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	121° at sunrise
Eponym	Lev D. Landau

Last updated August 08, 2019

Landau is a large lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It was named after physicist Lev Landau. The crater Wegener is attached to the northeastern rim. Attached to the southeastern rim is Frost.

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.

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.

The outer rim of Landau is heavily eroded and modified by subsequent impacts. The most notable of these is Wood, which overlays the northwest rim. Much of the floor is hilly and irregular, with only the northeast quadrant being somewhat level. There are multiple small craters and craterlets in the floor. The most intact section of the rim is in the southwest, although this is now little more than a low ridge line.

Wood is a lunar impact crater that lies entirely within the interior of the much larger walled plain Landau, on the far side of Moon. Wood is situated along the northwestern part of the floor of Landau, and shares a common northwestern rim with the larger impact. The inner wall of the northwest rim extends inward about halfway toward the crater midpoint, where there is a central peak. The rim of Wood is somewhat worn and uneven, with a small crater laid across the southwest section. The surviving interior floor is nearly level and is marked only by a few tiny craterlets.

Landau lies at the approximate margin of the Coulomb-Sarton Basin, a 530 km wide impact crater of Pre-Nectarian age.

The Coulomb-Sarton Basin is a Pre-Nectarian impact basin on the far side of the moon. It is named after the crater Coulomb northeast of the center of the basin and the smaller crater Sarton just south of the center. The basin is not obvious on the lunar surface. There are only small fragments of inner rings and a rim, and the most indicative topographic feature is a smooth, low plain at the center.

The pre-Nectarian period of the lunar geologic timescale runs from 4.533 billion years ago to 3.920 billion years ago, when the Nectaris Basin was formed by a large impact. It is followed by the Nectarian period.

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 Landau.

Landau	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
Q	41.0° N	121.7° W	32 km

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Bayer is a lunar impact crater located in the southwest section of the moon, to the east of the crater Schiller. The rim of Bayer is slightly worn by erosion, but remains well-defined. There is an inner terrace, but the outer wall is intruded upon by nearby impacts. The most significant of these is Schiller H, which forms a ridge attached to the northwest rim of Bayer. The floor of Bayer is relatively flat and lacks a central peak. There is a small, but notable crater on the floor near the western wall. This crater has a breach in its northern rim.

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.

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.

Blanchinus is a lunar impact crater that is situated in the rugged south-central highlands of the Moon. The crater is named after Italian astronomer Giovanni Bianchini whose Latinized name is Blanchinus. Adjacent to the south of Blanchinus is the crater Werner, and La Caille is attached to the northwest rim. West of the crater is the prominent formation Purbach.

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.

Bellinsgauzen is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southern part of Moon, on the far side from the Earth. It is attached to the northern rim of the larger crater Berlage, and within a half crater diameter of Cabannes to the west. North of Bellinsgauzen is the crater Bhabha.

Barringer is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It is attached to the north-northeastern rim of the walled basin named Apollo, and lies to the southeast of Plummer. South of Barringer, on the floor of the Apollo basin, is the crater Scobee.

Bhabha is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern part of the Moon's far side. It is nearly attached to the southeast rim of the larger crater Bose, and the outer rampart of that crater has produced a slight inward bulge along the northwest face of Bhabha. Other nearby craters of note include Stoney to the east, and Bellinsgauzen to the south.

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.

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.

Clairaut is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon's near side. It lies directly to the south of the crater Maurolycus and southeast of Barocius. Just to the southwest is Cuvier.

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.

Comstock is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the northeast of the walled plain Fersman, and north of the crater Weyl.

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.

Douglass is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the crater Frost and south-southwest of the large walled plain Landau.

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.

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.

Fridman is the remains of a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies due south of the huge walled plain Hertzsprung, and is attached to the northeastern rim of the crater Ioffe.

Petropavlovsky is a crater on the far side of the Moon. It is attached to the southern rim of the slightly larger crater Razumov, intruding slightly into the interior. Just to the west is the crater Frost, along the southern rim of the walled plain Landau.

Sarton is a lunar impact crater that lies beyond the northwestern limb of the Moon, on the far side from the Earth. It is located to the southwest of the crater Coulomb, to the north of the walled plain Landau. Nearly attached to the northwestern rim is the smaller Weber.

References

Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS . Retrieved 2007-08-05.
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Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763.
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Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
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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.

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Landau from orbit.
Coordinates	41°36′N118°06′W / 41.6°N 118.1°W / 41.6; -118.1 Coordinates: 41°36′N118°06′W / 41.6°N 118.1°W / 41.6; -118.1
Diameter	214 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	121° at sunrise
Eponym	Lev D. Landau