Orlov (crater)

Last updated
Orlov
Orlov crater 1038 med.jpg
Coordinates 25°42′S175°00′W / 25.7°S 175.0°W / -25.7; -175.0 Coordinates: 25°42′S175°00′W / 25.7°S 175.0°W / -25.7; -175.0
Diameter 81 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 184° at sunrise
Eponym Aleksandr I. Orlov
Sergei V. Orlov
Lunar Orbiter 2 image Orlov crater 2033 med.jpg
Lunar Orbiter 2 image

Orlov is a lunar impact crater. It is located on the Moon's far side, to the northeast of the larger crater Leeuwenhoek. To the north-northwest of Orlov is De Vries, and to the east-southeast is Rumford.

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.

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.

This crater lies between two larger satellite craters. Orlov Y is attached to the northern rim, and Leeuwenhoek E is connected along the southwest. The latter is also the location of an outward bulge in the rim of Orlov, giving it a wider interior wall along that side. There is some terracing along the eastern inner wall of Orlov. Orlov D, an oval-shaped crater, is attached to the outer rim along the northeast.

The interior floor of Orlov is relatively level with a central ridge formation located near the midpoint. There are some small craters along the extended inner wall to the southwest.

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 Orlov.

OrlovLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
D24.8° S173.4° W27 km
Y22.8° S175.1° W126 km
Oblique view of Orlov at left and Orlov Y at right, with Leeuwenhoek in left background. Facing southwest. Apollo 17 image. Orlov crater AS17-162-24105.jpg
Oblique view of Orlov at left and Orlov Y at right, with Leeuwenhoek in left background. Facing southwest. Apollo 17 image.

Related Research Articles

Cavalerius (crater) impact crater

Cavalerius is a prominent lunar impact crater that lies on the western edge of the Oceanus Procellarum lunar mare on the west part of the visible Moon. It nearly joins the northern rim of Hevelius to the south.

Bianchini (lunar crater) impact crater

Bianchini is a lunar impact crater that lies along the northern Jura Mountains that ring the Sinus Iridum, in the northwestern part of the near side of the Moon. It was named after Italian astronomer Francesco Bianchini. The impact of this crater near the edge of the Jura Mountains deposited some material into the Sinus Iridum floor.

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.

Behaim (crater) lunar crater

Behaim is a lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon, just to the south of the crater Ansgarius. To the south of Behaim is the crater Hecataeus, and to the east-southeast is Gibbs.

Casatus (crater) impact crater

Casatus is a lunar impact crater that is located near the southern limb of the Moon. The north-northeast rim of the crater overlies a portion of the slightly larger crater Klaproth. Along the western rim, Casatus A intrudes somewhat into the interior, producing an inward-bowing rim. To the southeast of Casatus is Newton.

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.

Carver (crater) lunar crater

Carver is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, due east of the walled plain Van der Waals. To the northeast is the crater Rosseland, and to the south-southeast lies Kozyrev.

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.

Dyson (crater) impact crater

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.

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.

Chandler (crater) impact crater

Chandler is a lunar impact crater in the northern hemisphere, on the Moon's far side. It lies to the southeast of the large walled plain D'Alembert, and southeast of the slightly smaller Chernyshev crater.

Chaplygin (crater)

Chaplygin is a large lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the southeast of the huge walled plain Mendeleev, about midway between the craters Schliemann to the northeast and Marconi to the southwest. It is about the same size as Albategnius on the near side.

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.

De Vries (crater) lunar crater

De Vries is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon relative to the Earth. It lies about midway between the craters Racah to the north-northwest and Orlov to the south-southeast. An nameless walled plain lies between De Vries and Orlov, with the perimeter of this feature joining the two rims.

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.

Frost (crater) lunar crater

Frost is a lunar impact crater that is attached to the southern rim of the walled plain Landau, and lies on the far side of the Moon. Just to the east is Petropavlovskiy, and to the northeast along the edge of Landau is Razumov. The crater Douglass is located less than a crater diameter to the west-southwest.

Leeuwenhoek (crater) lunar crater

Leeuwenhoek is a lunar impact crater that lies in the Moon's southern hemisphere, on the far side from the Earth. It is located to the east of the crater Birkeland and the unusual double crater Van de Graaff. To the northeast of Leeuwenhoek is Orlov and to the south is the large walled plain Leibnitz.

Rumford (crater) lunar crater

Rumford is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the northwest of the large crater Oppenheimer, and to the east-southeast of Orlov.

Nassau (crater) lunar crater

Nassau is a lunar impact crater on the Moon's far side. It abuts against the northeastern rim of the figure-8-shaped crater Van de Graaff. To the southeast of Nassau lies the crater Leeuwenhoek, and to the east is Orlov.

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.