Ley (crater)

Ley
	LRO WAC image
Coordinates	42°12′N154°54′E / 42.2°N 154.9°E Coordinates: 42°12′N154°54′E / 42.2°N 154.9°E
Diameter	79 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	205° at sunrise
Eponym	Willy Ley

Last updated August 07, 2019

Ley is a lunar impact crater that is located across the southern rim of the much larger walled plain Campbell. Intruding into the south-southwestern rim of Ley is the slightly larger crater Von Neumann. The debris from the formation of Von Neumann has produced a bulging rampart that occupies the southwest interior floor of Ley. The outer rim of Ley has undergone impact erosion, and is marked by a number of small craters. The inner wall is also worn, and the interior floor is pock-marked by a number of small craters. There is a small, cup-shaped crater on the floor to the northwest of the midpoint.

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.

Campbell is a large lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the walled plain D'Alembert, an even larger formation. If Campbell were located on the near side of the Moon as seen from the Earth, it would form one of the largest visible craters, being slightly larger than Schickard. It is bordered by several craters of note, with Wiener to the southwest, Von Neumann just to the south, Ley overlying the southeast rim, and Pawsey to the west.

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Nikolaev is a crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located north of the Mare Moscoviense and south of the larger crater Von Neumann. Because it is on the far side of the Moon, it is not visible from Earth. It is named after the Soviet cosmonaut, Andriyan Nikolaev.

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.

Asclepi is a heavily eroded lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. The outer rim has been worn down and rounded by many millions of years of subsequent impacts, so that it is now nearly level with the surrounding terrain. As a result, the crater is now little more than a depression in the surface. The interior is nearly flat and relatively featureless.

Biela is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged highlands of the southeastern Moon. It is named after Austrian astronomer Wilhelm von Biela. The crater lies to the east of Rosenberger, to the southeast of the Watt–Steinheil double crater.

Casatus is a lunar impact crater that is located near the southern limb of the Moon. The north-northeast rim of the crater overlies a portion of the slightly larger crater Klaproth. Along the western rim, Casatus A intrudes somewhat into the interior, producing an inward-bowing rim. To the southeast of Casatus is Newton.

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.

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.

Charlier is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. To the south-southeast is the larger crater Kovalevskaya, and northeast of Charlier is Perrine.

Wurzelbauer is the remnant of a lunar impact crater. It was named after German astronomer Johann Philipp von Wurzelbauer. It is located in the rugged terrain on the Moon's southern hemisphere. The slightly smaller crater Gauricus lies next to the eastern rim, while to the north-northeast is Pitatus.

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.

Douglass is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the crater Frost and south-southwest of the large walled plain Landau.

Von Neumann is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, in the northern hemisphere, named after polymath John von Neumann. It is nearly attached to the south-southeastern rim of the walled plain Campbell. The crater Ley is attached to the northeastern rim of Von Neumann, and is somewhat overlain by the outer rampart. To the west is the prominent Wiener, and to the south-southwest is Nikolayev.

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.

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.

Fleming is a large lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side, and cannot be seen from the Earth. It lies about a crater diameter to the east-northeast of Hertz, and to the northwest of Lobachevskiy.

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.

Fridman is the remains of a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies due south of the huge walled plain Hertzsprung, and is attached to the northeastern rim of the crater Ioffe.

Schlesinger is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. The crater Esnault-Pelterie overlies the western part of the rim and the outer rampart of that crater has covered about half the interior floor, leaving a crescent-shaped feature. To the south-southwest of Schlesinger is the crater Von Zeipel and to the southeast lies Quetelet.

References

Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
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.
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.
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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	42°12′N154°54′E / 42.2°N 154.9°E / 42.2; 154.9 Coordinates: 42°12′N154°54′E / 42.2°N 154.9°E / 42.2; 154.9
Diameter	79 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	205° at sunrise
Eponym	Willy Ley