Liebig (crater)

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Liebig
Liebig crater 4149 h1.jpg
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
(Spots at right are blemishes on original)
Coordinates 24°18′S48°12′W / 24.3°S 48.2°W / -24.3; -48.2 Coordinates: 24°18′S48°12′W / 24.3°S 48.2°W / -24.3; -48.2
Diameter 37 km
Depth 1.5 km
Colongitude 48° at sunrise
Eponym Justus von Liebig

Liebig is a lunar impact crater that is located to the south-southeast of the crater Mersenius, and west of the Mare Humorum in the southwest part of the Moon. To the southwest of Liebig is the slightly smaller crater de Gasparis.

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.

Mersenius (crater) impact crater

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The rim of Liebig has a low inner wall, with an interior floor that is nearly featureless except for a few tiny craterlets. It is nearly, but not quite circular, with outward bulges to the west and southeast. The small, cup-shaped crater Liebig A lies along the inner wall and part of the interior floor.

The western edge of the Mare Humorum is a fault line designated the Rupes Liebig, named after this crater. This fault extends for about 180 km along the shore. To the southwest, in the section of lava-flooded surface between Liebig and de Gasparis, is a system of rilles named the Rimae de Gasparis. These cover an area with a diameter of 130 km.

Lava Molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption

Lava is molten rock generated by geothermal energy and expelled through fractures in planetary crust or in an eruption, usually at temperatures from 700 to 1,200 °C. The structures resulting from subsequent solidification and cooling are also sometimes described as lava. The molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites, though such material located below the crust is referred to by other terms.

Rille fissure, especially on the Moon

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.

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 Liebig.

LiebigLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A24.3° S47.7° W12 km
B25.0° S47.1° W9 km
F24.6° S45.7° W9 km
G26.1° S45.8° W20 km
H26.3° S47.3° W11 km
J24.8° S45.0° W4 km

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Puiseux (crater) lunar crater

Puiseux is the remnant of a lunar impact crater that has been almost completely submerged by lava. It was named after French astronomer Pierre Puiseux. It is located near the southern end of Mare Humorum, to the north east of the ruined crater Doppelmayer. To the south-southeast is Vitello. Of the original structure of Puiseux, only the upper part of the rim remains above the mare surface. There are some small craterlets within the interior floor.

Aitken (crater) Large lunar impact crater

Aitken is a large lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, named for Robert Grant Aitken, an American astronomer specializing in binary stellar systems. It is located to the southeast of the crater Heaviside, and north of the unusual formation Van de Graaff. Attached to the southwest rim is Vertregt. To the southeast is the smaller Bergstrand.

Cardanus (crater) lunar crater

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Cavendish (crater) impact crater

Cavendish is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southwest part of the Moon, to the southwest of the larger crater Mersenius. It lies between the smaller craters Henry to the west-northwest and de Gasparis to the east-southeast.

De Gasparis (crater) impact crater

de Gasparis is a lunar crater that is located in the southwest part of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the crater Cavendish and south of Mersenius.

Doppelmayer (crater) impact crater

Doppelmayer is the remains of a lunar impact crater that lies on the southwest edge of Mare Humorum. It was named after the German mathematician and astronomer Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr. To the south-southeast is another flooded crater designated Lee, and to the southeast is Vitello. Just to the east-northeast of Doppelmayer lies the nearly submerged crater Puiseux.

Hippalus (crater) lunar crater

Hippalus is the remnant of a lunar impact crater on the eastern edge of Mare Humorum. It was named after ancient Greek explorer Hippalus. To the southeast is the crater Campanus, and to the northwest is the small flooded crater Loewy.

Agatharchides (crater) impact crater

Agatharchides is a lunar impact crater located at the southern edge of Oceanus Procellarum, in the region between the Mare Humorum and Mare Nubium. To the east-southeast is the crater Bullialdus, and to the south-southwest lies Loewy. It is named after the Greek geographer Agatharchides.

Archytas (crater) impact crater

Archytas is a lunar impact crater that protrudes into the northern edge of Mare Frigoris. To the northwest is the comparably sized crater Timaeus, and the smaller Protagoras lies in the opposite direction to the southeast. Further to the southwest, beyond the opposite edge of the mare, is the dark-floored crater Plato.

Boss (crater) lunar impact crater

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.

Fizeau (crater) lunar crater

Fizeau is a prominent lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, in the southern hemisphere. Nearby craters of note include Minkowski to the west-northwest, and Eijkman to the southwest.

Bellot (crater) lunar crater

Bellot is a small lunar impact crater that is located on the southwest edge of Mare Fecunditatis. It lies between the craters Goclenius to the northwest and Crozier to the southeast. To the southwest is Colombo, and to the west is Magelhaens.

Black (crater) lunar crater

Black is a small lunar impact crater that lies just to the southeast of the walled basin Kästner. To the south-southwest is the crater Ansgarius, and to the east is the small Dale. It is located near the eastern limb of the Moon, just to the southwest of the Mare Smythii.

Carmichael (crater) lunar crater

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.

Loewy (crater) lunar crater

Loewy is a small lunar impact crater that lies along the eastern rim of Mare Humorum, in the southwest part of the Moon's near side. It was named after French astronomer Maurice Loewy. This is a lava-flooded formation that lies to the southwest of the larger, lava-flooded crater Agatharchides. To the southeast is an even larger lava-flooded formation, Hippalus.

Vitello (crater) impact crater

Vitello is a lunar impact crater that lies along the southern edge of the small Mare Humorum, in the southwest part of the Moon's near side. It was named after 13th century Polish theologian and physicist Vitello. It lies just to the east of the lava-flooded crater Lee. To the northeast along the edge of the lunar mare is the Rupes Kelvin, an irregular fault line.

Crozier (crater) impact crater on the Moon

Crozier is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southwest edge of Mare Fecunditatis, a lunar mare in the eastern part of the Moon's near side. It lies to the east-northeast of the prominent crater Colombo, and southeast of the small crater Bellot.

Ibn Battuta (crater) lunar crater

Ibn Battuta is a small lunar impact crater on the Mare Fecunditatis, a lunar mare in the eastern part of the Moon's near side. It lies to the southwest of the crater Lindbergh, and northeast of the prominent Goclenius.

Palmieri (crater) impact crater

Palmieri is a lunar impact crater that lies to the southwest of the Mare Humorum, in the southwestern quadrant of the Moon's near side. It lies due south of the crater Liebig and east-northeast of the larger Fourier.

Fourier (crater) Moon crater

Fourier is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southwestern part of the Moon's near side, just to the southeast of the crater Vieta. To the northeast is the Mare Humorum. The rim of this crater is roughly circular, but appears oval when viewed from the Earth due to foreshortening.

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.

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.

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.