McNally (crater)

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McNally
Normal mcnally-clem1.jpg
Clementine mosaic
Coordinates 22°36′N127°12′W / 22.6°N 127.2°W / 22.6; -127.2 Coordinates: 22°36′N127°12′W / 22.6°N 127.2°W / 22.6; -127.2
Diameter 47 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 128° at sunrise
Eponym Paul A. McNally
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image. Spots in lower right are blemishes on original. McNally crater 5024 h2.jpg
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image. Spots in lower right are blemishes on original.

McNally is a crater that is located to the north-northwest of the much larger crater Fersman, on the far side of Moon. This is a worn crater with a rounded rim edge that is marked by many tiny impacts. Smaller, cup-shaped impacts cut through the rim along the southeastern and northern edges. There is a small craterlet along the base of the southeastern inner wall. The interior floor is otherwise relatively featureless. The crater is named after the Jesuit astronomer and Catholic priest Paul A. McNally.

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.

Fersman (crater) lunar crater

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.

Moon Earths natural satellite

Earth's Moon is an astronomical body that orbits the planet and acts as its only permanent natural satellite. It is the fifth-largest satellite in the Solar System, and the largest among planetary satellites relative to the size of the planet that it orbits. The Moon is, after Jupiter's satellite Io, the second-densest satellite in the Solar System among those whose densities are known.

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 McNally.

McNallyLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
T22.3° N129.0° W19 km
Y24.2° N127.5° W22 km

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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.