Luther (crater)

Last updated
Luther
Luther crater 4086 h1.jpg
Coordinates 33°12′N24°06′E / 33.2°N 24.1°E / 33.2; 24.1
Diameter 10 km
Depth 1.9 km
Colongitude 336° at sunrise
Eponym Robert Luther

Luther is a small lunar impact crater on the northwest part of Mare Serenitatis, at the inlet to Lacus Somniorum. To the east-southeast is the large crater Posidonius. Luther has a circular rim and is cup-shaped, with no appreciable wear from impact erosion. It lies across a wrinkle ridge on the lunar mare.

The crater is named after German astronomer Robert Luther. [1]

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 Luther.

LutherLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
H36.0° N22.8° E7 km
K37.5° N23.3° E4 km
X36.1° N24.3° E4 km
Y38.1° N24.4° E4 km

Related Research Articles

Abetti is a lunar impact crater that has been completely submerged by mare lavas. It forms a 'ghost crater' in the surface, showing only a curved rise where the rim is located. Abetti is located near the southeast edge of Mare Serenitatis, to the west of the Mons Argaeus. This crater is generally visible only at low angles of illumination. It is named after two Italian astronomers, Antonio Abetti and his son Giorgio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borel (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

Borel is a tiny lunar impact crater located in the southeast part of Mare Serenitatis. It was named after French mathematician Émile Borel. To the northeast is the crater Le Monnier and to the southeast is the crater Abetti. Borel was previously identified as Le Monnier C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finsch (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Finsch is a relatively small lunar impact crater in the mid-part of Mare Serenitatis that has been almost completely covered by the mare, forming a ghost crater in the lava plain. It was named after German zoologist Otto Finsch. It is located to the south-southeast of the crater Sarabhai and northeast of Bessel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fahrenheit (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Fahrenheit is a tiny lunar impact crater located in the southeast part of the Mare Crisium. This area of the surface is nearly devoid of impact features of interest. To the east are the Dorsa Harker wrinkle ridges, and beyond them is Promontorium Agarum at the edge of the mare. The landing site of the Soviet Luna 24 probe is located about 15 kilometers to the southeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amontons (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Amontons is a tiny lunar impact crater in the western half of the Mare Fecunditatis. It is a circular, cup-shaped formation that has been excavated out of the level surface by the impact, and is the same dark hue as the surrounding mare. When the sun is at a low angle, multiple ghost-craters are visible in the mare surface to the south-southeast and north of it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Bruce is a small lunar impact crater located in the small lunar mare Sinus Medii. It lies to the west-northwest of the irregular crater Rhaeticus, and is about 33 km to the west of the even smaller Blagg. It is named for Catherine Wolfe Bruce, an American philanthropist and patroness of astronomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbot (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

Abbot is a small lunar impact crater that lies on the rugged ground between the Mare Fecunditatis in the south and west, and the Mare Crisium to the north. It is a circular crater with a cup-shaped interior. The inner walls slope downward to the midpoint, and no impacts of significant mark the interior or the rim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Bakri (crater)</span> Lunar crater

Al-Bakri is a small lunar impact crater on the northwest edge of Mare Tranquillitatis. It is named after the Spanish Arab geographer and historian Abu Abdullah al-Bakri. It is just south of the eastern arm of the Montes Haemus that borders the Mare Serenitatis to the north. To the east-northeast is the prominent crater Plinius. South of the crater are the rilles of the Rimae Maclear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beketov (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

Beketov is a small lunar impact crater that lies in the northern reaches of the Mare Tranquillitatis. It is named after Russian chemist Nikolay Beketov. To the south is the ghost crater Jansen R. Northeast of Beketov, along the edge of the mare, is the crater Vitruvius. Beketov was previously designated Jansen C before being named by the IAU. The flooded crater Jansen itself lies to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crile (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Crile is a tiny lunar impact crater. It is roughly circular and cup-shaped, with interior walls that slope down to the midpoint. The crater lies in the Palus Somni, between the Mare Crisium to the east and Mare Tranquillitatis to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baade (crater)</span> Lunar crater

Baade is a lunar impact crater that is located near the southwest limb of the Moon on the near side, to the southwest of the enormous Mare Orientale impact basin. The area to the east of this crater forms the junction between the 280-km-long Vallis Bouvard to the north and the narrower, 160-km-long Vallis Baade to the south-southeast. Both valleys radiate away from the impact basin to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnard (lunar crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

Barnard is a lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. It is attached to the southeast rim of the large crater Humboldt, and Abel lies directly to the south. To the northeast is the crater Curie, while to the southeast is the Mare Australe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellot (crater)</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belyaev (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Belyaev is a lunar impact crater that is attached to the outer edge of the Mare Moscoviense, on the far side of the Moon. It is a worn formation with a small crater pair overlaying the southern rim, and several smaller craters across the relatively irregular interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clausius (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

Clausius is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southwest part of the Moon, in the small lunar mare designated Lacus Excellentiae. It is completely enclosed by mare material, although the tiny satellite crater Clausius A lies just to the north. The rim of Clausius is low and sharp, with a slightly oval shape that is longer in the north–south direction. The interior floor has been flooded by basaltic lava, and appears level and featureless with a darker surface that matches the mare surface that surrounds the crater exterior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drude (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Drude is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, in the rugged Montes Cordillera range that forms the outer ring around the Mare Orientale impact basin. It is located just behind the west-southwest limb, and this area is sometimes brought into sight from Earth during favorable librations. However, even at such times, the crater is viewed from the edge and little detail can be seen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eckert (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

Eckert is a tiny, isolated lunar impact crater in the northern part of the Mare Crisium. This crater forms a circular pit in the dark surface of the surrounding lunar mare. Just to the west is a wrinkle ridge in the mare surface, a feature that is prominent only under oblique lighting from the Sun. The nearest craters of note are Peirce to the west-northwest, and Picard to the southwest. Both of these craters lie in the Mare Crisium basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmer (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Elmer is a small lunar impact crater that is located to the south of Mare Smythii, near the eastern limb of the Moon. This crater is seen at a highly oblique angle from Earth, and the visibility is affected by libration. Elmer lies southwest of the crater Kreiken, and east-southeast of the larger Dale. This is a circular, bowl-shaped crater with an interior floor that occupies about half the total diameter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courtney (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Courtney is a tiny lunar impact crater on the Mare Imbrium, a lunar mare in the northwest quadrant of the Moon. It lies about two crater diameters to the northwest of Euler, in an otherwise isolated stretch of the mare. The dark surface in this region is marked by Euler's ray material. The name is an English male name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chalonge (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Chalonge is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the larger crater Lewis, in the outer skirt of ejecta that surrounds the Mare Orientale impact basin. To the southeast are the Montes Cordillera, a ring of mountains that encircle the Mare Orientale formation.

References

  1. "Luther (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.