Olbers (crater)

Last updated
Olbers
Olbers crater 4174 h1 4174 h2.jpg
Coordinates 7°24′N75°54′W / 7.4°N 75.9°W / 7.4; -75.9 Coordinates: 7°24′N75°54′W / 7.4°N 75.9°W / 7.4; -75.9
Diameter 74 km
Depth 3.0 km
Colongitude 76° at sunrise
Eponym Heinrich W. M. Olbers

Olbers is a lunar impact crater that lies at the west edge of the Oceanus Procellarum, near the western limb of the Moon. It lies to the northwest of the crater Hevelius, and to the north of the indistinct Hedin. Farther to the south is the crater Riccioli. Due to its location, this crater appears very oblong because of foreshortening. It is viewed nearly edge-on, making observation of the interior difficult from the Earth.

Lunar craters

Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, almost all of which were formed by impacts.

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.

Oceanus Procellarum vast lunar mare on the western edge of the near side of Earths Moon

Oceanus Procellarum is a vast lunar mare on the western edge of the near side of the Moon. It is the only one of the lunar maria to be called an "Oceanus" (ocean), due to its size: Oceanus Procellarum is the largest of the maria, stretching more than 2,500 km (1,600 mi) across its north-south axis and covering roughly 4,000,000 km2 (1,500,000 sq mi), accounting for roughly 10.5% of the total lunar surface area.

The rim of Olbers is somewhat worn, with notches to the north, east, and south. The interior floor is relatively flat, especially toward the eastern rim, and is not marked by notable craterlets. The floor is covered by ray material and ejecta from the adjacent Glushko.

Ray system

A ray system comprises radial streaks of fine ejecta thrown out during the formation of an impact crater, looking somewhat like many thin spokes coming from the hub of a wheel. The rays may extend for lengths up to several times the diameter of their originating crater, and are often accompanied by small secondary craters formed by larger chunks of ejecta. Ray systems have been identified on the Moon, Earth, Mercury, and some moons of the outer planets. Originally it was thought that they existed only on planets or moons lacking an atmosphere, but more recently they have been identified on Mars in infrared images taken from orbit by 2001 Mars Odyssey's thermal imager.

Glushko (crater) lunar crater

Glushko is a young impact crater on the Moon attached to the western rim of the crater Olbers.

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 Olbers.

OlbersLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
B6.8° N74.1° W16 km
D10.2° N78.2° W116 km
G8.4° N74.5° W10 km
H8.7° N74.4° W8 km
K6.8° N78.2° W24 km
M8.0° N81.2° W33 km
N9.0° N79.7° W22 km
S6.8° N76.7° W21 km
V9.1° N73.0° W7 km
W5.9° N81.5° W18 km
Y6.5° N83.6° W21 km

The following craters have been 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.

Related Research Articles

Schiaparelli (lunar crater) lunar crater

Schiaparelli is a lunar impact crater located on the western part of the Oceanus Procellarum, to the west of the crater Herodotus. The rim is relatively sharp-edged and relatively free from impact wear. The inner walls have slumped to form a shelf around much of the sides. The interior floor is somewhat irregular, but free from impacts of note.

Cardanus (crater) lunar crater

Cardanus is a lunar impact crater that is located in the western part of the Moon, in the western part of the Oceanus Procellarum. Due to its location the crater appears very oval because of foreshortening, and it is viewed almost from the side.

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.

Büsching (crater) impact crater

Büsching is a lunar impact crater that is located in the crater-covered southern highlands of the Moon. It was named after German geographer Anton F. Büsching. The similar-sized crater Buch is located adjacent to its southwestern rim, and further to the southwest lies Maurolycus.

Bowditch (crater) lunar crater

Bowditch is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the eastern limb. It is located on a region of the lunar surface that is brought into view due to libration, but at such times the area is viewed from the edge and so not much detail can be observed. It lies just to the north of the small Lacus Solitudinis lunar mare, between the craters Titius to the southwest and Perel'man to the east-northeast.

Fabry (crater) impact crater

Fabry is a large lunar impact crater of the form termed a walled plain. It is located on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the northeastern limb. Parts of this area are sometimes brought into view by the effects of libration, but the terrain is seen from the edge and so not much in the way of detail can be observed.

Carmichael (crater) lunar crater

Carmichael is a lunar impact crater that is located along the eastern edge of the Sinus Amoris, in the northeastern quadrant of the Moon's near side. Its diameter is 20 km. It was named after American psychologist Leonard Carmichael. It lies within a couple of crater diameters south-southwest of the smaller crater Hill. Further to the east-northeast is the prominent crater Macrobius. Carmichael was designated Macrobius A before being given its current name by the IAU.

Hedin (crater) impact crater

Hedin is a lunar impact crater of the dimension traditionally termed a walled plain. It lies due south of the crater pair Olbers and Glushko, and northwest of the similarly dimensioned walled plain Riccioli. To the east is another walled plain, Hevelius.

Demonax (crater) impact crater

Demonax is a lunar impact crater near the southern limb of the Moon. This location makes the crater difficult to observe due to foreshortening. The crater is also illuminated at a very low angle, when it is in the sunlit side. Demonax lies just to the north of the crater Scott, one of the south polar formations. To the north-northwest is Boguslawsky.

Chebyshev (crater) lunar crater

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.

Carnot (crater) impact crater

Carnot is a large crater in the northern part of the Moon's far side. It intrudes into the southern rim of the huge walled plain Birkhoff. To the west-southwest of Carnot is the crater Paraskevopoulos.

Chappell (crater) lunar crater

Chappell is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, in the northern hemisphere just to the north of the crater Debye. This feature is located in a heavily bombarded section of the surface, and much of the outer rim of the crater is overlain by many smaller craters. The northern rim in particular has been almost completely disintegrated, while small craters also overlie the rim to the northwest and southeast. What remains of the rim forms a rounded, somewhat irregular edge to the crater depression.

Coriolis (crater) lunar crater

Coriolis is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. The crater floor is bisected by the lunar equator, and it lies about three crater diameters northwest of the crater Daedalus.

Drebbel (crater) impact crater

Drebbel is a small lunar impact crater named after Cornelius Drebbel that is located to the northeast of the large walled plain Schickard, in the southwestern part of the Moon. Further to the northeast is the Lacus Excellentiae and the small crater Clausius.

Fourier (crater) Moon crater

Fourier is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southwestern part of the Moon's near side, just to the southeast of the crater Vieta. To the northeast is the Mare Humorum. The rim of this crater is roughly circular, but appears oval when viewed from the Earth due to foreshortening.

Dziewulski (crater) lunar crater

Dziewulski is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies between the craters Edison to the north and Popov to the south. The outer rim of this crater has been considerably worn by impacts, particularly along the southwest quadrant where the satellite crater Dziewulski Q overlies the rim and the interior floor. The northern rim is also heavily disrupted, and several small crater lie along the southeast rim. The interior floor and surrounding terrain has been resurfaced.

Donner (crater) lunar crater

Donner is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located just to the northeast of the Mare Australe, behind the southeastern limb of the Moon. During favorable librations this part of the lunar surface can be brought into view of the Earth, but the site is viewed from the edge and so not much detail can be seen.

Emden (crater) lunar crater

Emden is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It is named after Jacob Robert Emden (1862-1940).

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.

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.