Langmuir (crater)

Langmuir
	LRO WAC image
Coordinates	35°42′S128°24′W / 35.7°S 128.4°W Coordinates: 35°42′S128°24′W / 35.7°S 128.4°W
Diameter	91 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	130° at sunrise
Eponym	Irving Langmuir

Last updated August 08, 2019

Langmuir is an impact crater on the Moon's far side. It is located in a region to the southwest of the Mare Orientale impact basin. Langmuir is bracketed between two larger craters, with Chebyshev to the west-northwest and Brouwer to the east. It partly overlaps the rims of these two craters, making it the youngest of the three. The outer rampart of ejecta from Langmuir partly covers the southeast interior floor of Chebyshev.

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.

Mare Orientale is a lunar mare. It is located on the western border of the near side and far side of the Moon, and is difficult to see from an Earthbound perspective. Images from spacecraft have revealed it to be one of the most striking large scale lunar features, resembling a target ring bullseye.

This crater has not been heavily eroded, and many of its original features remain intact and sharply defined. The rim to the west is somewhat disrupted due to having overlaid the rim of the larger Chebyshev. In a coincidental arrangement, a small crater is situated across the rim edge at the northern end of where it joins with Chebyshev, and a smaller crater lies at the southern end of this merger.

The inner wall of Langmuir contains some minor terrace structures and displays some appearance of slumping along the southwestern edge. The inner wall in the southern half of the crater is wider than elsewhere, and is nearly twice as wide as the inner wall along the northern edge. As a result, the interior floor is offset to the north. There is a central peak formation on the floor, but it is located to the northeast of the midpoint. The floor is relatively level in the western half, but more uneven in the east.

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Cavalerius is a prominent lunar impact crater that lies on the western edge of the Oceanus Procellarum lunar mare on the west part of the visible Moon. It nearly joins the northern rim of Hevelius to the south.

Doppler is a lunar impact crater named for Christian Doppler that is located at the southern edge of the walled plain Korolev, on the far side of the Moon. To the east are the craters Das and Galois. Farther to the southwest of Doppler is Mohorovičić.

Bowditch is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the eastern limb. It is located on a region of the lunar surface that is brought into view due to libration, but at such times the area is viewed from the edge and so not much detail can be observed. It lies just to the north of the small Lacus Solitudinis lunar mare, between the craters Titius to the southwest and Perel'man to the east-northeast.

Buffon is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies a crater diameter south of the large walled plain Chebyshev. To the northeast is the crater Langmuir and to the southwest is Leavitt. Buffon lies nearly at the midpoint between these formations.

Demonax is a lunar impact crater near the southern limb of the Moon. This location makes the crater difficult to observe due to foreshortening. The crater is also illuminated at a very low angle, when it is in the sunlit side. Demonax lies just to the north of the crater Scott, one of the south polar formations. To the north-northwest is Boguslawsky.

Chebyshev is a large lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. The somewhat smaller crater Langmuir is intruding into the east-southeastern rim of Chebyshev, forming a chain of large craters with Brouwer on Langmuir's eastern rim.

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.

Crocco is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon from the Earth. It is located to the northeast of the huge walled plain Planck, and northwest of the equally huge Poincaré. Just to the north, within one crater diameter, is the crater Koch.

Carnot is a large crater in the northern part of the Moon's far side. It intrudes into the southern rim of the huge walled plain Birkhoff. To the west-southwest of Carnot is the crater Paraskevopoulos.

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.

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.

Fraunhofer is a lunar impact crater that is located just to the south-southwest of the walled plain Furnerius, in the southeastern part of the Moon. This crater appears foreshortened when viewed from the Earth, and is actually nearly circular.

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.

Emden is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It is named after Jacob Robert Emden (1862-1940).

Fersman is a large lunar impact crater on the Moon's far side. It lies to the east of the crater Poynting, and west-northwest of Weyl. To the south is the huge walled plain Hertzsprung.

Finsen is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere, on the Moon's far side. It is attached to the southeastern exterior of the walled plain Leibnitz, and the ejecta from Finsen covers the southeastern part of Leibnitz's interior floor. To the southwest of Finsen is another walled plain, Von Kármán, partly overlain by Leibnitz.

Fowler is a large lunar impact crater that lies in the northern hemisphere on the Moon's far side. It lies to the south-southwest of the crater Esnault-Pelterie, and north of Gadomski. Overlying the eastern rim and intruding into the interior is Von Zeipel.

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.

Rynin is a lunar impact crater that is located just behind the northwestern limb, on the far side of the Moon. It is located just to the east of the larger crater Stefan, and to the southwest of Chapman.

Kleymenov is a crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located near the east-northeastern outer wall of the huge walled plain Apollo, and to the west-northwest of the large crater Chebyshev. To the north is Mariotte.

References

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Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS . Retrieved 2007-08-05.
Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
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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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LRO WAC image
Coordinates	35°42′S128°24′W / 35.7°S 128.4°W / -35.7; -128.4 Coordinates: 35°42′S128°24′W / 35.7°S 128.4°W / -35.7; -128.4
Diameter	91 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	130° at sunrise
Eponym	Irving Langmuir