Leakey (crater)

Leakey
	LRO image
Coordinates	3°12′S37°24′E / 3.2°S 37.4°E Coordinates: 3°12′S37°24′E / 3.2°S 37.4°E
Diameter	12 km
Colongitude	324° at sunrise
Eponym	Louis Leakey

Last updated August 07, 2019

Leakey is a small, undistinguished lunar impact crater that is located in an area of rough terrain in the eastern part of the Moon. It was named after British archaeologist Louis Leakey.^[1]

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.

Terrain or relief involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin word terra means "earth."

The immediate area is not notable for crater features, although some distance to the southwest is the crater pair of Capella and Isidorus. In the surface between this pair and Leakey is a system of rilles designated the Rimae Gutenberg that follow a course to the southeast.

Capella is a lunar impact crater 49 km (30 mi) in diameter that lies to the north of the Mare Nectaris, in a rugged region with many small impact craters. It was named after Roman astronomer Martianus Capella. It intrudes slightly into the eastern rim of the crater Isidorus, a feature only slightly smaller in diameter.

Isidorus is a lunar impact crater that is located to the north of the Mare Nectaris, on the eastern half of the Moon's near side. It was named after Spanish astronomer Saint Isidore of Seville. It forms a pair with the slightly larger Capella, which is attached to the east-northeastern rim. To the west-southwest across the lunar mare are Mädler and the prominent Theophilus.

Rille is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the surface of the Moon that resemble channels. The Latin term is rima, plural rimae. Typically a rille can be up to several kilometers wide and hundreds of kilometers in length. However, the term has also been used loosely to describe similar structures on a number of planets in the Solar System, including Mars, Venus, and on a number of moons. All bear a structural resemblance to each other.

Leakey is a circular, bowl-shaped formation that is symmetrical and not significantly eroded. The inner walls slope down to a ring of low albedo material having a diameter about half that of the crater. The rim is not notably eroded and the crater has no other features of interest.

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.

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Alekhin is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the north of the crater Zeeman, and south-southeast of Fizeau. To the west lies Crommelin, and east-southeast is Doerfel.

Appleton is a heavily eroded lunar impact crater that lies in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. To the northwest are the craters Von Neumann and Campbel. The smaller Golovin lies to the northeast, while further to the southwest is the Mare Moscoviense.

Boss is a lunar impact crater that is located along the northeast rim of the Moon's near side. Due to its location, the crater is viewed from the side by observers on the Earth, and its visibility is subject to libration effects.

Bohr is a lunar impact crater that is located near the western lunar limb, in the area that is affected by librations. It is attached to the southwestern rim of the larger, eroded Vasco da Gama formation, and to the southeast of the crater Einstein. The crater was observed for the first time in 1963 by Arthus and Ewen Whitaker in the book Rectified Lunar Atlas.

Boltzmann is an old lunar impact crater that is located along the southern limb of the Moon, in the vicinity of the south pole. At this location the crater is viewed from the side from Earth, and so not much detail can be seen. It is located to the north of the walled plain Drygalski, and to the west of the crater Le Gentil.

Brashear is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon, in the southern hemisphere in the vicinity of the south pole. The crater is named after the American astronomer John A. Brashear. It lies just to the south of the walled plain Antoniadi, within the larger crater's outer rampart of ejecta. To the northeast besides Antoniadi is the crater Numerov, and southeast lies the younger De Forest.

Barbier is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It forms a matched pair with Cyrano to the north-northwest, and it lies to the southeast of the huge walled plain Gagarin. Southwest of Barbier is the crater Sierpinski, and to the southeast is the Mare Ingenii.

Brenner is an old lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged southeastern part of the Moon's near side. It is named after the Serbian-Austrian astronomer Spiridon Gopčević. It is located within one crater diameter northwest of the crater pair Metius and Fabricius.

Feuillée is a small lunar impact crater in the eastern part of the Mare Imbrium. It was named after French natural scientist Louis Feuillée. It lies less than a half crater diameter to the northwest of Beer, and the two formations form a nearly matched pair. To the west is the small but prominent crater Timocharis.

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.

Clark is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere of the Moon's far side. It is located midway between the larger walled plain Van der Waals to the south and the similar-sized crater Pizzetti to the north. It is named for American astronomer and telescope maker Alvan Clark and his son Alvan Graham Clark.

Cyrano is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon. It lies due east of the huge walled plain Gagarin, and to the north of the somewhat smaller crater Barbier.

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.

Chang Heng is a lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side. It lies less than one crater diameter to the northeast of the walled plain Fleming. The rim of this crater is somewhat eroded, with a pair of small craters along the northern rim and tiny craters along the south and east edges. The interior floor contains a small, concentric crater that is about one third the diameter of Chang Heng. The crater is named after Chinese astronomer Zhang Heng.

Chaucer is a lunar impact crater that is located to the west of the walled plain Hertzsprung, on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the northwest of the crater Vavilov and east of the Tsander–Kibal'chich crater pair. This is a circular crater with a slightly eroded outer rim. The interior floor is nearly featureless, with only a few tiny craterlets marking the surface. It is named after the writer Geoffrey Chaucer.

Dellinger is a lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side. It is attached to the southern rim of the crater Pannekoek. To the southeast lies the crater Marconi, and to the southwest is Chauvenet.

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.

Gadomski is a lunar crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the south of the much larger crater Fowler, and to the west of Klute.

Vil'ev is an eroded lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the west of the much larger crater Chaplygin, and to the north of Marconi. Just to the northeast of Vil'ev is the small crater pair of van den Bos and Tamm. Slightly farther to the west is the larger crater pair of Pannekoek and Dellinger.

References

↑ "Leakey (crater)" . Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.

Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report . Retrieved 2007-10-24.
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.
Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
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.
Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.

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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[1] "Leakey (crater)" . Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.

LRO image
Coordinates	3°12′S37°24′E / 3.2°S 37.4°E / -3.2; 37.4 Coordinates: 3°12′S37°24′E / 3.2°S 37.4°E / -3.2; 37.4
Diameter	12 km
Colongitude	324° at sunrise
Eponym	Louis Leakey