Nishina (crater)

Last updated
Nishina
Nishina LROC.jpg
LRO image
Coordinates 44°36′S170°24′W / 44.6°S 170.4°W / -44.6; -170.4 Coordinates: 44°36′S170°24′W / 44.6°S 170.4°W / -44.6; -170.4
Diameter 65 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 172° at sunrise
Eponym Yoshio Nishina
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image Nishina crater 5043 med.jpg
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image

Nishina is the remnant of a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the south-southwest of the crater Maksutov, to the southeast of Finsen and Leibniz.

The rim of this formation has been eroded, worn down, and reshaped by a history of impacts, leaving an irregular, indented perimeter surrounding the crater floor. The interior of the formation has been resurfaced by basaltic lava, leaving a level, nearly featureless surface that contains no impacts of note. While the interior surface has a low albedo and appears dark, it has been coated by ray material which has produced lighter patches to the southwest and northeast.

Prior to formal naming in 1970 by the IAU, [1] the crater was known as Crater 436. [2]

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 Nishina.

NishinaLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
T43.7° S174.4° W28 km

Related Research Articles

Hermite (crater) impact crater

Hermite is a lunar impact crater located along the northern lunar limb, close to the north pole of the Moon. It was officially named in 1964 by the IAU. To the west is the crater Rozhdestvenskiy, and to the south are Lovelace and Sylvester. Grignard is located directly adjacent to the Southwest. From the Earth this crater is viewed nearly from the side, and it is illuminated by oblique sunlight.

Avery (crater) lunar crater

Avery is a small lunar impact crater located near the eastern limb of the Moon. This is a circular, bowl-shaped formation with a small interior floor. It lies near the western edge of Mare Smythii. To the east is the crater Haldane, and to the southwest is Carrillo. Gilbert lies to the southwest.

Euler (crater) impact crater

Euler is a lunar impact crater located in the southern half of the Mare Imbrium, and is named after the Swiss mathematician, physician and astronomer Leonhard Euler. The most notable nearby feature is Mons Vinogradov to the west-southwest. There is a cluster of low ridges to the southwest, and this formation includes the small crater Natasha and the tiny Jehan. About 200 kilometers to the east-northeast is the comparably sized crater Lambert.

Appleton (crater) lunar crater

Appleton is a heavily eroded lunar impact crater that lies in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. To the northwest are the craters Von Neumann and Campbel. The smaller Golovin lies to the northeast, while further to the southwest is the Mare Moscoviense.

Artamonov (crater) lunar crater

Artamonov is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. The eroded outer rim of Artamonov does not have the circular shape of most lunar craters, and instead has the overall shape of three or four merged craters. The largest of these formations is in the south, with smaller circular bulges to the north and east.

Boss (crater) lunar impact crater

Boss is a lunar impact crater that is located along the northeast rim of the Moon's near side. Due to its location, the crater is viewed from the side by observers on the Earth, and its visibility is subject to libration effects.

Barrow (crater) lunar impact crater

Barrow is an old lunar impact crater that is located near the northern limb of the Moon. It lies between the crater Goldschmidt to the northwest and the irregular formation Meton to the northeast. To the southwest is W. Bond.

Naonobu (crater) lunar crater

Naonobu is a small lunar impact crater named after Japanese mathematician Ajima Naonobu. It is located on the eastern Mare Fecunditatis, to the northwest of the prominent crater Langrenus, and it forms a triple-crater formation with the adjacent Atwood to the south and Bilharz just to the southwest. Naonobu and Atwood are separated by only a few kilometres.

Boyle (crater) lunar crater

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.

Beals (crater) lunar crater

Beals is a lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon, and lies across the southwestern rim of the crater Riemann. From the Earth the crater is viewed nearly from on edge, and is best seen during favorable librations. To the west is the large walled plain Gauss.

Barkla (crater) lunar crater

Barkla is a lunar impact crater that lies near the eastern limb of the Moon. It is located to the east of the prominent crater Langrenus, and was formerly designated Langrenus A before being renamed by the IAU in 1979. Due east of Barkla is Kapteyn, a formation only slightly larger with a similar size. Southwest of Barkla is the crater Lamé.

Blackett (crater) lunar crater

Blackett is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, behind the southwest limb. It lies beyond the southeast outer ring of the immense Mare Orientale basin. The formation of that major feature has left Blackett deeply marked with ridge features trending from the northwest. Much of the crater has been shaped by the ejecta from Mare Orientale, particularly along the western half of the crater.

Davisson (crater) lunar crater

Davisson is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon from the Earth. This crater lies across the eastern rim of the huge walled plain Leibnitz, and the rim and outer rampart intrudes into the interior floor of Leibnitz. To the east-northeast of Davisson is the walled plain Oppenheimer, a formation only somewhat smaller than Leibnitz.

Delaunay (crater) lunar crater

Delaunay is a lunar impact crater. It was named after French astronomer Charles-Eugène Delaunay. The craters La Caille to the southwest and Faye to the northeast border on the outer rim of Delaunay. Further to the northwest is the prominent Arzachel.

Charlier (lunar crater) lunar crater

Charlier is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. To the south-southeast is the larger crater Kovalevskaya, and northeast of Charlier is Perrine.

Guyot (crater) lunar crater

Guyot is a lunar impact crater on the Moon's far side. It is separated from the crater Kostinskiy to the northeast by only a few kilometers of rough terrain. To the west-southwest lies the crater Lobachevskiy and to the east-southeast is Ostwald.

Kondratyuk (crater) lunar crater

Kondratyuk is a worn crater on the Moon's far side. It is located to the west-northwest of the large walled plain Fermi, and to the northeast of the crater Hilbert. To the north-northwest is Meitner, and to the northeast lies Langemak.

Maksutov (crater) lunar crater

Maksutov is a crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located just to the south-southwest of the larger walled plain Oppenheimer. To the southwest lies the crater Nishina, and to the west-northwest is the merged crater pairing of Davisson and Leibnitz.

Sternfeld (crater) lunar crater

Sternfeld is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the south-southwest of the crater Paschen, and to the east-southeast of the smaller Lodygin.

Vestine (crater) lunar crater

Vestine is a heavily eroded impact crater on the Moon's far side, just beyond the northeastern limb. It lies to the southwest of the large walled plain Harkhebi, and to the northwest of the Maxwell–Richardson crater pair.

References

  1. Nishina, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
  2. Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A)