Legendre (crater)

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Legendre
Legendre (LRO).png
Coordinates 28°55′S70°01′E / 28.92°S 70.02°E / -28.92; 70.02 Coordinates: 28°55′S70°01′E / 28.92°S 70.02°E / -28.92; 70.02
Diameter 78 km
Depth 2.7 km
Colongitude 292° at sunrise
Eponym Adrien M. Legendre

Legendre is a lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. Just to the southwest is the crater Adams. To the northwest is Palitzsch and the prominent Petavius.

Lunar craters craters on Earths moon

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.

Moon Earths natural satellite

The Moon is an astronomical body that orbits the Earth 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 rim of Legendre is worn and eroded, with many small craterlets along the rim and the sides of the outer wall. A small crater approximately 25 kilometers in diameter lies across the southern rim. There is also a narrow gap in the northeast rim that provides a valley leading into the interior. The crater floor is relatively flat, but is marked by multiple small craterlets.

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 Legendre.

LegendreCoordinatesDiameter, km
D 31°36′S75°09′E / 31.60°S 75.15°E / -31.60; 75.15 (Legendre D) 58
E 33°52′S78°34′E / 33.86°S 78.57°E / -33.86; 78.57 (Legendre E) 26
F 33°40′S76°07′E / 33.66°S 76.12°E / -33.66; 76.12 (Legendre F) 40
G 32°14′S73°55′E / 32.23°S 73.92°E / -32.23; 73.92 (Legendre G) 17
H 32°26′S78°10′E / 32.44°S 78.17°E / -32.44; 78.17 (Legendre H) 8
J 30°38′S74°06′E / 30.63°S 74.10°E / -30.63; 74.10 (Legendre J) 12
K 29°47′S72°13′E / 29.79°S 72.21°E / -29.79; 72.21 (Legendre K) 92
L 28°07′S73°30′E / 28.12°S 73.50°E / -28.12; 73.50 (Legendre L) 31
M 28°10′S71°37′E / 28.17°S 71.61°E / -28.17; 71.61 (Legendre M) 10
N 27°28′S70°30′E / 27.47°S 70.50°E / -27.47; 70.50 (Legendre N) 6
P 27°19′S69°17′E / 27.31°S 69.28°E / -27.31; 69.28 (Legendre P) 7

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Adams (lunar crater) lunar crater

Adams is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged southeastern section of the Moon, near the lunar limb. It lies just to the southwest of the crater Legendre. To the northwest are the craters Hase and Petavius, and to the southwest is Furnerius. To the southwest of Adams is a system of rilles designated the Rimae Hase. The longest of these rilles follows a course to the southeast.

Appleton (crater) lunar crater

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Armiński (crater) lunar crater

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Asclepi (crater) impact crater

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Byrd (lunar crater) lunar crater

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Bergstrand (crater) lunar crater

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Dawson (crater) crater

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Fizeau (crater) lunar crater

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Boltzmann (crater) lunar crater

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.

Breislak (crater) impact crater

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Bhabha (crater) lunar crater

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Belopolskiy (crater) lunar crater

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Carnot (crater) impact crater

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.

Chappell (crater) lunar crater

Chappell is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, in the northern hemisphere just to the north of the crater Debye. This feature is located in a heavily bombarded section of the surface, and much of the outer rim of the crater is overlain by many smaller craters. The northern rim in particular has been almost completely disintegrated, while small craters also overlie the rim to the northwest and southeast. What remains of the rim forms a rounded, somewhat irregular edge to the crater depression.

Dove is a small lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged lunar highlands in the southeastern part of the Moon. It lies to the north of the prominent crater Pitiscus.

Fraunhofer (crater) lunar crater

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 (crater) lunar crater

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.

Eötvös (crater) lunar crater

Eötvös is the remains of a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the north-northwest of the walled plain Roche, and east-southeast of the equally ruined Bolyai.

Fowler (crater) impact crater

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.

Weber (crater) lunar crater

Weber is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon, and it cannot be viewed directly from the Earth's surface. This crater is attached to the northwest outer rim of the larger crater Sarton. About two crater diameters to the northwest is the eroded Kramers.

References

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.

United States Geological Survey Scientific agency of the United States government

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.