McDonald (crater)

Last updated
McDonald
McDonald crater AS15-M-2066.jpg
Apollo 15 image
Coordinates 30°24′N20°54′W / 30.4°N 20.9°W / 30.4; -20.9 Coordinates: 30°24′N20°54′W / 30.4°N 20.9°W / 30.4; -20.9
Diameter 8 km
Depth 1.5 km
Colongitude 21° at sunrise
Eponym William Johnson McDonald and Thomas Logie MacDonald
Oblique Apollo 15 image McDonald crater AS15-M-1554.jpg
Oblique Apollo 15 image

McDonald is a small lunar impact crater located in the central Mare Imbrium. It was named after American benefactor William Johnson McDonald and Scottish selenographer Thomas Logie MacDonald. [1] This crater is a cup-shaped feature with a circular rim, and has not been significantly eroded. It lies to the southeast of the slightly larger crater Carlini, in an isolated part of the mare.

Mare Imbrium Vast lunar mare filling a basin on Earths Moon

Mare Imbrium is a vast lava plain within the Imbrium Basin on the Moon and is one of the larger craters in the Solar System. The Imbrium Basin formed from the collision of a proto-planet during the Late Heavy Bombardment. Basaltic lava later flooded the giant crater to form the flat volcanic plain seen today. The basin's age has been estimated using uranium–lead dating methods to 3938 ± 4 million years ago, the diameter of the impactor has been estimated to be 250 ± 25 km. The Moon's maria have fewer features than other areas of the Moon because molten lava pooled in the craters and formed a relatively smooth surface. Mare Imbrium is not as flat as it was originally because later events have altered its surface.

William Johnson McDonald American banker

William Johnson McDonald was a Paris, Texas banker who left $850,000 to the University of Texas System to endow an astronomical observatory.

Thomas Logie MacDonald FRSE FRAS (1901–1973) was a Scottish astronomer and politician, and eponym of lunar crater McDonald.

This feature was identified as 'Carlini B' prior to being renamed by the IAU.

International Astronomical Union Association of professional astronomers

The International Astronomical Union is an international association of professional astronomers, at the PhD level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy. Among other activities, it acts as the internationally recognized authority for assigning designations and names to celestial bodies and any surface features on them.

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References

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

Ben J. Bussey is an American planetary scientist.

Topographic map medium to large scale map that shows a precise map of the terrain

In modern mapping, a topographic map is a type of map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of relief, usually using contour lines, but historically using a variety of methods. Traditional definitions require a topographic map to show both natural and man-made features. A topographic survey is typically published as a map series, made up of two or more map sheets that combine to form the whole map. A contour line is a line connecting places of equal elevation.