Lunar Orbiter 4 image | |
Coordinates | 39°18′S0°48′E / 39.3°S 0.8°E Coordinates: 39°18′S0°48′E / 39.3°S 0.8°E |
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Diameter | 75 km |
Depth | 3.5 km |
Colongitude | 0° at sunrise |
Eponym | William A. Miller |
Miller is a lunar impact crater that lies amidst the rugged terrain in the southern part of the Moon. It is attached to the northern rim of the smaller crater Nasireddin, and the outer rampart of the latter reaches almost to the central peak formation at the midpoint of Miller's interior floor. Together with Huggins to the southwest and Orontius to the south-southwest, this foursome forms a chain of craters forming an arc that curves towards the north. The northwest rim of Miller in turn is attached to the satellite crater Miller C, forming the end of the arc. To the southeast lies Stöfler. The crater is named after British chemist William Allen Miller. [1]
Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, almost all of which were formed by impacts.
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.
The Moon is an astronomical body that orbits the Earth 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.
The rim of Miller is nearly circular with a system of terraces along the inner wall. The interior floor is nearly level with the aforementioned central peak formation located at the midpoint. The crater Stöfler H is attached to the exterior southeast rim and intrudes slightly into the interior. There are a few tiny craterlets lying within the crater, including one along the rampart of Nasiredden.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Miller.
Miller | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
A | 37.7° S | 1.8° E | 39 km |
B | 37.6° S | 1.0° E | 12 km |
C | 38.2° S | 0.3° W | 36 km |
D | 38.0° S | 3.1° E | 5 km |
E | 38.8° S | 2.8° E | 6 km |
K | 39.8° S | 0.9° E | 4 km |
Abul Wafa is an impact crater located near the lunar equator on the far side of the Moon, named after the Persian mathematician and astronomer Abu al-Wafa' Buzjani. To the east are the crater pair Ctesibius and Heron. In the northeast lies the larger crater King, and to the southwest is Vesalius.
Stöfler is a large lunar impact crater located in the crater-dotted southern highlands. It was named after 15th-16th century German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Stöffler. It sits to the west of the crater Maurolycus. The distorted crater Fernelius is attached to the northern rim, and Miller and Nasireddin lie to the west. Faraday has overlain and damaged the western rim, and this crater in turn has been overlain by several smaller craters.
Faraday is a lunar impact crater in the southern highlands of the Moon. It was named after British chemist and physicist Michael Faraday. It lies across the southeast rim of the larger crater Stöfler, and the northwest rim of Faraday forms a wide rampart across the otherwise flat floor of Stöfler. To the east of Faraday is Maurolycus.
Eudoxus is a prominent lunar impact crater that lies to the east of the northern tip of the Montes Caucasus range. It is named after the Greek astronomer Eudoxus of Cnidus. It is located to the south of the prominent crater Aristoteles in the northern regions of the visible Moon. To the south is the ruined formation of Alexander, and the small crater Lamèch lies to the southwest.
Lambert is a lunar impact crater on the southern half of the Mare Imbrium basin. It was named after Swiss polymath Johann Heinrich Lambert. It lies to the east and somewhat south of the slightly larger crater Timocharis. To the south is the smaller Pytheas, and some distance to the west-southwest is Euler.
Babbage is an ancient lunar impact crater that is located near the northwest limb of the Moon, named after Charles Babbage. It is attached to the southeastern rim of the prominent crater Pythagoras. The crater remnant named South intrudes into the southeastern floor of Babbage.
Byrd is an irregular lunar impact crater that is located near the north pole of the Moon. The north rim of Byrd is nearly connected to the crater Peary, a formation that is adjacent to the pole. The smaller crater Gioja is attached to the remains of the southwest rim.
Boyle is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the rugged far side of the Moon. It is adjacent to the larger crater Hess to the southeast, and lies about midway between the craters Alder to the north-northeast and Abbe to the south-southwest.
Calippus is a small lunar impact crater that is located on the eastern edge of the rugged Montes Caucasus mountain range in the northern part of the Moon. It was named after Greek astronomer Callippus of Cyzicus. It lies to the southwest of the crater remnant Alexander, to the northwest of the Mare Serenitatis.
Barringer is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It is attached to the north-northeastern rim of the walled basin named Apollo, and lies to the southeast of Plummer. South of Barringer, on the floor of the Apollo basin, is the crater Scobee.
Chebyshev is a large lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. The somewhat smaller crater Langmuir is intruding into the east-southeastern rim of Chebyshev, forming a chain of large craters with Brouwer on Langmuir's eastern rim.
d'Alembert is a large lunar impact crater located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon, to the northeast of the somewhat smaller walled plain Campbell. Astride the southwest rim of d'Alembert is Slipher. To the north is the crater Yamamoto, and to the south-southwest lies Langevin. This walled plain has the same diameter as Clavius on the near side, making it one of the largest such formations on the Moon.
Debye is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the Moon's far side, as seen from the Earth. It lies to the south of the crater Chappell, to the southwest of the walled plain Rowland, and to the east of D'Alembert.
Dyson is a lunar impact crater, 63 kilometers in diameter, that lies on the far side of the Moon, past the northwest limb. It is located in the northern part of the surface, to the northwest of the crater Coulomb, and east of van't Hoff.
Faye is a heavily eroded lunar impact crater in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. It is named after French astronomer Hervé Faye. It is attached to the northeastern rim of the crater Delaunay, with Donati located just a few kilometers to the northeast. It forms part of a chain of craters of increasing size to the southwest that continues with La Caille and ends with the walled plain Purbach.
Hédervári is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern part of the Moon, only a few crater diameters from the south lunar pole. It is attached to the northern rim of the larger crater Amundsen, and lies south of Hale. Due to its location, this crater is viewed nearly from the edge from Earth, which hinders the amount of detail that can be observed. It is also illuminated obliquely by the Sun, and the interior is often cloaked in shadows.
Fowler is a large lunar impact crater that lies in the northern hemisphere on the Moon's far side. It lies to the south-southwest of the crater Esnault-Pelterie, and north of Gadomski. Overlying the eastern rim and intruding into the interior is Von Zeipel.
Fridman is the remains of a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies due south of the huge walled plain Hertzsprung, and is attached to the northeastern rim of the crater Ioffe.
Lebedinskiy is an impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is attached to the eastern outer rim of the somewhat larger crater Zhukovskiy. About two crater diameters to the east-southeast lies the smaller Engel'gardt. The satellite crater Lebedinskiy P lies in the southern indentation of terrain between Lebedinskiy and Zhukovsky, and is nearly attached to the southwest rim of Lebedinskiy.
Waterman is a lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side, and cannot be viewed directly from the Earth. It lies along the southern outer ramparts of the prominent crater Tsiolkovskiy. Almost attached to the southwest is Neujmin, so that Waterman lies straddled between these two features.
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.
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.
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