Le Verrier (lunar crater)

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Le Verrier
Le Verrier crater 4127 h2.jpg
Le Verrier seen by Lunar Orbiter 4 in 1967
Coordinates 40°18′N20°36′W / 40.3°N 20.6°W / 40.3; -20.6 Coordinates: 40°18′N20°36′W / 40.3°N 20.6°W / 40.3; -20.6
Diameter 20 km
Depth 2.1 km
Colongitude 21° at sunrise
Eponym Urbain Le Verrier
View of Helicon (left) and Le Verrier (right). While Helicon's ejecta is buried by the mare lava, Le Verrier's is not. (The mountain on the horizon at left is Promontorium Laplace. Image taken by Apollo 15). Helicon crater Le Verrier crater AS15-M-1554.jpg
View of Helicon (left) and Le Verrier (right). While Helicon's ejecta is buried by the mare lava, Le Verrier's is not. (The mountain on the horizon at left is Promontorium Laplace. Image taken by Apollo 15).

Le Verrier is a small lunar impact crater located in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium. It was named after French mathematician and astronomer Urbain Le Verrier. [1] To the west is the slightly larger crater Helicon, and farther to the west-northwest lies the mountain-ringed bay Sinus Iridum.

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.

Mare Imbrium Vast lunar mare filling a basin on Earths Moon

Mare Imbrium is a vast lava plain within the Imbrium Basin on the Moon and is one of the larger craters in the Solar System. The Imbrium Basin formed from the collision of a proto-planet during the Late Heavy Bombardment. Basaltic lava later flooded the giant crater to form the flat volcanic plain seen today. The basin's age has been estimated using uranium–lead dating methods to 3938 ± 4 million years ago, the diameter of the impactor has been estimated to be 250 ± 25 km. The Moon's maria have fewer features than other areas of the Moon because molten lava pooled in the craters and formed a relatively smooth surface. Mare Imbrium is not as flat as it was originally because later events have altered its surface.

Contents

Le Verrier, sometimes written Leverrier, is a bowl-shaped feature with a nearly circular rim. The inner walls display the appearance of slumping along the upper edges. The inner wall and floor to the southeast appears more irregular than elsewhere.

Chang'e 3 landed north of Le Verrier in December 2013.

Change 3 lunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration

Chang'e 3 is an robotic lunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), incorporating a robotic lander and China's first lunar rover. It was launched in December 2013 as part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. The mission's chief commander was Ma Xingrui.

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 Le Verrier.

Le VerrierLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A38.1° N17.3° W4 km
B40.1° N12.9° W5 km
D39.7° N12.3° W9 km
E42.4° N16.9° W7 km
S38.9° N20.6° W3 km
T39.8° N20.7° W4 km
U37.2° N13.1° W4 km
V37.8° N14.2° W3 km
W39.4° N13.9° W3 km
X41.6° N12.1° W3 km

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Sharp (crater) lunar crater

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La Condamine (crater) small lunar crater

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Helicon (crater) lunar crater

Helicon is a small lunar impact crater that is located on the north part of the Mare Imbrium. The crater was named after 4th century BC Greek astronomer Helicon of Cyzicus, a friend and disciple of Plato. To the northwest is the prominent Sinus Iridum, a mountain-ringed bay on the mare. Just to the east is the slightly smaller crater Le Verrier.

Benedict (crater) lunar crater

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Lyell (lunar crater) impact crater

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Conon (crater) Moon crater

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Carmichael (crater) lunar crater

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Hill (crater) lunar crater

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Carnot (crater) impact crater

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Louville (crater)

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Comstock (crater) lunar crater

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Franz (crater) lunar crater

File: Franz is a small lunar impact crater identified during the Apollo mission in August 1971 and located along the eastern edge of the Sinus Amoris, a bay that forms a northern extension to the Mare Tranquillitatis. Its diameter is 25 km. It was named after German astronomer Julius Heinrich Franz. It lies to the southwest of the prominent crater Macrobius. To the north is the smaller Carmichael, and to the northwest is the diminutive Theophrastus.

References

  1. "Le Verrier (lunar 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.