Coordinates | 0°36′S24°12′E / 0.6°S 24.2°E |
---|---|
Diameter | 6.5 km |
Depth | 1.3 km |
Colongitude | 336° at sunrise |
Eponym | Helmuth Graf von Moltke |
Moltke is a lunar impact crater near the southern edge of the Mare Tranquillitatis. It is a small, bowl-shaped crater surrounded by a bright halo of higher-albedo material. Just to the south lies the rille system named Rimae Hypatia. These follow a course running roughly east-southeast to west-northwest, and have a length of approximately 180 kilometers.
About 50 kilometers to the northwest of this crater is Tranquility Base, the 1969 landing site of Apollo 11.
The crater is named after German army general and author Helmuth von Moltke the Elder. [1]
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Moltke.
Moltke | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
A | 1.0° S | 23.2° E | 4 km |
B | 1.0° S | 25.2° E | 5 km |
Moltke B was informally called Little Moltke by the Apollo 10 and Apollo 11 crews.
Aristarchus is a lunar impact crater that lies in the northwest part of the Moon's near side. It is considered the brightest of the large formations on the lunar surface, with an albedo nearly double that of most lunar features. The feature is bright enough to be visible to the naked eye, and displays unusually bright features when viewed through a large telescope. It is also readily identified when most of the lunar surface is illuminated by earthshine. The crater is deeper than the Grand Canyon.
Archimedes is a large lunar impact crater on the eastern edges of the Mare Imbrium. Its diameter is 81 km.
Messier is a relatively young lunar impact crater located on the Mare Fecunditatis. The crater has a discernible oblong shape that is not caused by foreshortening. The longer dimension is oriented in an east–west direction.
Seleucus is a lunar impact crater located in the western part of Oceanus Procellarum. To the west is the lava-flooded remains of the walled plain Eddington. To the southwest is the crater Krafft and to the northwest lies Briggs.
Aldrin is a small impact crater located on the southern part of the Mare Tranquillitatis, to the east of Sabine. It is located about 50 kilometers to the northwest of the Apollo 11 landing site, Tranquility Base. Named after Buzz Aldrin, the crater is the westernmost of a row of three craters named in honor of the Apollo 11 crew members. About 30 kilometers to the east is the landing site of the Surveyor 5 lunar probe.
Armstrong is a small lunar impact crater located in the southern part of the Mare Tranquillitatis. It lies about 50 kilometers to the northeast of the Apollo 11 landing site, Tranquility Base. Named after American astronaut Neil Armstrong, the crater is the easternmost of the row of three craters named in honor of the Apollo 11 crew members. To the north is the Ranger 8 impact site.
Collins is a tiny lunar impact crater located on the southern part of the Mare Tranquillitatis. It is located about 25 kilometers to the north of the Apollo 11 landing site, Tranquility Base. Named after American astronaut Michael Collins, the crater is the central member of the row of three craters named in honor of the Apollo 11 crew members. About 15 kilometers to the west-northwest is the landing site of the Surveyor 5 lunar probe.
Hyginus is a lunar caldera located at the east end of the Sinus Medii. It was named after ancient Roman astronomer Gaius Julius Hyginus. Its rim is split by a 220 kilometer-long rille, Rima Hyginus, that branches to the northwest and to the east-southeast. The crater is deeper than the rille, and lies at intersection of the rille's branches. Together, the crater and the rille form a prominent feature in an otherwise flat surface. Smaller craters along the length of the rille may have been caused by the collapse of an underlying structure.
Petavius is a large lunar impact crater located to the southeast of the Mare Fecunditatis, near the southeastern lunar limb. Attached to the northwest rim is the smaller crater Wrottesley. To the southeast are Palitzsch, Vallis Palitzsch, and Hase. Farther to the north is the large crater Vendelinus. Petavius appears oblong when viewed from the Earth due to foreshortening. Petavius is Imbrian in age.
Proclus is a young lunar impact crater located to the west of the Mare Crisium, on the east shore of the Palus Somni. Its diameter is 27 km. It was named after 5th century Greek mathematician, astronomer and philosopher Proclus.
Gassendi is a large lunar impact crater feature located at the northern edge of Mare Humorum. It was named after French astronomer Pierre Gassendi. The formation has been inundated by lava during the formation of the mare, so only the rim and the multiple central peaks remain above the surface. The outer rim is worn and eroded, although it retains a generally circular form. A smaller crater – Gassendi A – intrudes into the northern rim, and joins a rough uplift at the northwest part of the floor. The crater pair bear a curious resemblance to a diamond ring.
Ariadaeus is a small, bowl-shaped lunar impact crater on the western shores of Mare Tranquillitatis. It lies to the north of the crater Dionysius, and to the west-southwest of Arago. The crater is joined along the northeast rim by the slightly smaller Ariadaeus A, and the two form a double-crater. Its diameter is 10.4 km.
Maskelyne is a solitary lunar impact crater that lies in the southeast part of the Mare Tranquillitatis. Its diameter is 22 km. It was named after British astronomer Nevil Maskelyne. The outer rim has a somewhat polygonal shape, although it is generally circular. The inner walls are terraced and there is a low central rise at the midpoint of the floor.
Tsiolkovskiy is a large lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. Named for Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, it lies in the southern hemisphere, to the west of the large crater Gagarin, and northwest of Milne. Just to the south is Waterman, with Neujmin to the south-southwest. The crater protrudes into the neighbouring Fermi, an older crater of comparable size that does not have a lava-flooded floor.
Encke is a lunar impact crater that is located on the western edge of the Mare Insularum, to the south-southeast of the crater Kepler. The small crater Kunowsky lies to the east-southeast on the mare.
Vesalius is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, less than 100 kilometers south of the lunar equator. It was named after Flemish anatomist and physician Andreas Vesalius. Just to the northwest is the slightly smaller crater Buisson. Farther to the west-southwest lies the prominent crater Einthoven.
Herigonius is a small lunar impact crater that is located in the southern part of the Oceanus Procellarum, to the northeast of the crater Gassendi. It was named after French mathematician and astronomer Pierre Hérigone. Herigonius is roughly circular, with an inward bulge and narrower inner wall along the northeast. In the interior of the sloping inner walls is a floor about half the diameter of the crater.
Hypatia is a lunar impact crater along the northwest edge of Sinus Asperitatis, a bay on the southwest edge of Mare Tranquillitatis. It was named after Egyptian mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria. The nearest crater with an eponym is Alfraganus to the west-southwest. However, farther to the south-southeast, across the lunar mare, is the prominent crater Theophilus.
Dollond is a small lunar impact crater that is located in the central region of the Moon, to the north of the crater Abulfeda. It was named after British optician John Dollond. Due west of Dollond is Anděl. Dollond is circular and cone shaped, with a tiny floor at the midpoint of the sloping interior walls.
Meitner is an impact crater on the far side of the Moon, behind the eastern limb. It lies to the northwest of the crater Kondratyuk, and about a crater diameter to the west of Langemak.