Le Verrier seen by Lunar Orbiter 4 in 1967 | |
Coordinates | 40°18′N20°36′W / 40.3°N 20.6°W Coordinates: 40°18′N20°36′W / 40.3°N 20.6°W |
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Diameter | 20 km |
Depth | 2.1 km |
Colongitude | 21° at sunrise |
Eponym | Urbain Le Verrier |
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Verrier | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
A | 38.1° N | 17.3° W | 4 km |
B | 40.1° N | 12.9° W | 5 km |
D | 39.7° N | 12.3° W | 9 km |
E | 42.4° N | 16.9° W | 7 km |
S | 38.9° N | 20.6° W | 3 km |
T | 39.8° N | 20.7° W | 4 km |
U | 37.2° N | 13.1° W | 4 km |
V | 37.8° N | 14.2° W | 3 km |
W | 39.4° N | 13.9° W | 3 km |
X | 41.6° N | 12.1° W | 3 km |
Dembowski is a lunar impact crater located to the southeast of the Sinus Medii. Its diameter is 26 km. It was named after Italian astronomer Ercole Dembowski. To the east are the craters Agrippa and Godin, to the southwest is Rhaeticus.
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.
Bombelli is a small lunar impact crater that is located in the highlands to the north of the Sinus Successus. It was named after Italian mathematician Raphael Bombelli. It was previously designated Apollonius T. The crater Apollonius is located to the east-southeast.
Bode is a small crater located near the central region of the Moon, to the northwest of the joined craters Pallas and Murchison. It lies on a region of raised surface between the Mare Vaporum to the northeast, Sinus Aestuum to the west, and Sinus Medii to the southeast. The crater was named after German astronomer Johann Elert Bode.
Chladni is a small lunar impact crater that lies near the northwest edge of Sinus Medii, in the central part of the Moon. The crater is named for German physicist and musician Ernst Chladni who, in 1794, wrote the first book on meteorites. The rim of the crater is roughly circular, and there is a small central floor at the midpoint of the sloping inner walls. This feature has a higher albedo than the surrounding terrain. It is connected by a low ridge to the rim of the crater Murchison, which lies to the northwest. Due east of Chladni is the larger Triesnecker.
Sharp is a lunar impact crater located to the west of the Sinus Iridum bay of the Mare Imbrium, beyond the Montes Jura range. To the southwest is the crater Mairan. Because of its location and foreshortening, Sharp appears elliptical from the earth.
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.
Herschel is a lunar impact crater located just to the north of the walled plain Ptolemaeus. Its diameter is 39 km. It was named after German-born British astronomer William Herschel.
Bianchini is a lunar impact crater that lies along the northern Jura Mountains that ring the Sinus Iridum, in the northwestern part of the near side of the Moon. It was named after Italian astronomer Francesco Bianchini. The impact of this crater near the edge of the Jura Mountains deposited some material into the Sinus Iridum floor.
La Condamine is a small lunar impact crater that is located on the southern edge of the Mare Frigoris, in the northern part of the Moon. It lies to the northeast of the mountain-rimmed Sinus Iridum formation in the northwest part of the Mare Imbrium.
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 is a small, bowl-shaped crater that lies on the floor of the walled basin Mendeleev. It is located near the lunar equator on the far side of the Moon from the Earth.
Lyell is a lunar impact crater that lies along the eastern edge of the Mare Tranquillitatis, at the northern arm of the bay designated Sinus Concordiae. It was named after Scottish geologist Charles Lyell. To the north along the edge of the lunar mare is the crater Franz. The region of terrain to the east of Lyell is named Palus Somni.
Conon is a small but prominent lunar impact crater that lies in the eastern foothills of the Montes Apenninus mountain range. The crater is named for the Greek astronomer Conon of Samos. Just to the west of Conon is the long mountainous ridge Mons Bradley. The nearest craters possessing an eponym are Galen, about 70 kilometres (43 mi) to the east, and Aratus, about the same distance to the northeast.
Carmichael is a lunar impact crater that is located along the eastern edge of the Sinus Amoris, in the northeastern quadrant of the Moon's near side. Its diameter is 20 km. It was named after American psychologist Leonard Carmichael. It lies within a couple of crater diameters south-southwest of the smaller crater Hill. Further to the east-northeast is the prominent crater Macrobius. Carmichael was designated Macrobius A before being given its current name by the IAU.
Hill is a small lunar impact crater that is located to the west of the prominent crater Macrobius, near the eastern edge of the Sinus Amoris. Its diameter is 16 km. It was named after American astronomer George William Hill. It was previously designated Macrobius B. It lies just to the north-northeast of Carmichael, another renamed satellite crater of Macrobius.
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.
Louville is a lunar impact crater that is located on the western edge of the Sinus Roris, a bay in the northern part of the Oceanus Procellarum. It lies to the northwest of the crater Mairan, on a triangular section of continental terrain to the west of Sinus Iridum and the Mare Imbrium.
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.
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.
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.
Ben J. Bussey is an American planetary scientist.
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