Louville (crater)

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Louville
Louville crater 4158 h2.jpg
Coordinates 44°00′N46°00′W / 44.0°N 46.0°W / 44.0; -46.0 Coordinates: 44°00′N46°00′W / 44.0°N 46.0°W / 44.0; -46.0
Diameter 36 km
Depth 1.0 km
Colongitude 46° at sunrise
Eponym Jacques E. D'Allonville

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.

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.

Sinus Roris

Sinus Roris is an extension of the northern edge of Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon. The IAU-defined selenographic coordinates of this bay are 54.0° N, 56.6° W, and the diameter is 202 km.

This crater formation has been heavily eroded by impacts, to the point where the surface is somewhat difficult to distinguish from the surrounding rugged terrain to the east. It is now an irregular depression in the surface, with worn, uneven features. The small crater Louville B lies along the western rim, while Louville A lies just to the southeast.

To the west across the lunar mare is a long, slender rille designated Rima Sharp. This follows a generally north–south route, beginning to the north-northwest of Louville and continuing until it terminates to the south-southwest. The total diameter of this formation is 107 km.

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 Louville.

LouvilleLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A43.2° N45.3° W8 km
B44.0° N46.5° W8 km
D46.9° N52.1° W7 km
Da46.6° N51.7° W11 km
E43.1° N45.9° W6 km
K46.8° N55.2° W5 km
P45.6° N52.2° W7 km

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Stadius (crater) impact crater

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Bruce (crater) lunar crater

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Chladni (crater) lunar crater

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Flammarion (lunar crater) impact crater

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Appleton (crater) lunar crater

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Blanchard (crater) lunar crater

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Lyell (lunar crater) impact crater

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Cuvier (crater) impact crater

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Cannon (crater) lunar crater

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Cayley (crater) impact crater

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Condon (crater) lunar crater

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Da Vinci (lunar crater) lunar crater

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South (lunar crater) lunar crater

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Drude (crater) lunar crater

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Yangel lunar crater

Yangel' is a small lunar impact crater that is located in the irregular terrain to the north of the Mare Vaporum. Its diameter is 8 km. It was named after Soviet rocketry scientist Mikhail Kuzmich Yangel' in 1973. This crater was formerly designated Manilius F.

Esclangon (crater) impact crater

Esclangon is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged terrain to the northwest of the prominent crater Macrobius, and east of Sinus Amoris. Its diameter is 15 km. It was named after French astronomer Ernest Esclangon. This formation was previously designated Macrobius L. Just to the west-southwest is the crater Hill. Lacus Bonitatis, the Lake of Good, is located to the east and northeast of Esclangon.

Franz (crater) lunar crater

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.

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.