Parkhurst (crater)

Last updated
Parkhurst
Parkhurst LROC.jpg
LRO WAC image
Coordinates 33°24′S103°36′E / 33.4°S 103.6°E / -33.4; 103.6 Coordinates: 33°24′S103°36′E / 33.4°S 103.6°E / -33.4; 103.6
Diameter 96 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 258° at sunrise
Eponym John A. Parkhurst
Oblique Apollo 15 image, facing south Parkhurst crater AS15-M-2497.jpg
Oblique Apollo 15 image, facing south

Parkhurst is a heavily degraded lunar impact crater to the northeast of the Mare Australe on the far side of the Moon. To the north-northeast of Parkhurst is the crater Scaliger and to the southwest lies the dark-floored Gernsback. The small lunar mare named Lacus Solitudinis lies due north of Parkhurst.

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.

Mare Australe lunar mare

Mare Australe is a lunar mare located in the southeastern hemisphere of the Moon. It is 997 kilometers in diameter, overlapping the near and far sides of the Moon. Smooth, dark volcanic basalt lines the bottom of the mare. The Australe basin was formed in the Pre-Nectarian epoch, while the mare material inside formed in the Upper Imbrian epoch.

Little remains of this crater formation other than the uneven outline of the outer rim. Several satellite craters lie along the rim edge, with Parkhust D along the northeast, B to the north, and X along the northwest. The satellite crater Parkhurst Q pushes into the southwestern rim, distorting the edge shape. The interior floor of Parkhurst is pock-marked by small craterlets.

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 Parkhurst.

ParkhurstLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
B32.0° S104.4° E30 km
D32.8° S105.4° E27 km
K36.3° S105.2° E11 km
Q35.0° S101.6° E37 km
X31.5° S102.3° E12 km
Y29.9° S102.8° E49 km

Related Research Articles

Anaximenes (crater) impact crater

Anaximenes is a low-rimmed lunar impact crater near the north-northwest limb of the Moon. It lies to the west of the crater Philolaus, and northeast of Carpenter. To the northwest is Poncelet, close to the visible edge of the Moon.

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.

Hercules (crater) crater located in the northeast part of the Moon

Hercules is a prominent crater located in the northeast part of the Moon, to the west of the crater Atlas. It lies along the east edge of a southward extension in the Mare Frigoris. To the west across the mare is Bürg. To the south is the ruined crater Williams.

Abel (crater) Lunar crater

Abel is an ancient lunar impact crater that lies near the southeast limb of the Moon's near side. It is located to the south of the crater Barnard, at the northwest edge of the Mare Australe.

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.

Archytas (crater) impact crater

Archytas is a lunar impact crater that protrudes into the northern edge of Mare Frigoris. To the northwest is the comparably sized crater Timaeus, and the smaller Protagoras lies in the opposite direction to the southeast. Further to the southwest, beyond the opposite edge of the mare, is the dark-floored crater Plato.

Milne (crater) lunar crater

Milne is a large lunar crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon, named after the British mathematician and astrophysicist Edward Arthur Milne. It lies to the northeast of the Mare Australe, and southeast of Lacus Solitudinis.

Belkovich (crater) lunar crater

Bel'kovich is a large lunar impact crater of the form termed a walled plain. The formation has been heavily eroded by a history of subsequent impacts, leaving it reshaped, worn, and the features softened and rounded. Bel'kovich is located along the northeastern limb of the Moon, and so its visibility is subject to libration effects. From the Earth this crater is viewed from the side, making it difficult to view it in detail.

De La Rue (crater) impact crater

De La Rue is the remnant of a lunar impact crater, or possibly several merged craters, creating a formation sometimes called a walled plain. It lies in the northeastern part of the Moon on the near side, and so appears foreshortened due to its location. This formation lies to the north-northwest of the prominent crater Endymion, just beyond the eastern extreme of Mare Frigoris. The crater Strabo intrudes into the northern part of De La Rue's northern rim, and the smaller Thales is attached to the northwestern part of the wall.

Condorcet (crater) impact crater

Condorcet is a lunar impact crater that is located in the eastern part of the Moon's near side, to the southeast of the Mare Crisium. It was named after French mathematician Marquis de Condorcet. To the northeast of Condorcet are the craters Hansen and Alhazen.

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.

Crozier (crater) impact crater on the Moon

Crozier is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southwest edge of Mare Fecunditatis, a lunar mare in the eastern part of the Moon's near side. It lies to the east-northeast of the prominent crater Colombo, and southeast of the small crater Bellot.

Darwin (lunar crater) Lunar impact crater

Darwin is a lunar impact crater of the type categorised as a walled plain. It lies in the southeastern part of the Moon, and is sufficiently close to the limb to appear significantly foreshortened when viewed from the Earth. Attached to its southern rim is Lamarck. To the northeast is the dark-floored crater Crüger.

Cleostratus (crater) impact crater

Cleostratus is a lunar impact crater near the northwest limb of the Moon. It lies to the northeast of the crater Xenophanes, and west-southwest of the prominent Pythagoras. From the Earth this crater appears highly elongated due to foreshortening.

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.

Eimmart (crater) impact crater

Eimmart is a lunar impact crater that is located near the east-northeastern limb of the Moon, to the northeast of the Mare Crisium. The northern and eastern outer rim of this crater borders on the narrow Mare Anguis. To the northwest of Eimmart are the smaller crater Delmotte and the prominent Cleomedes.

Magelhaens (lunar crater) lunar crater

Magelhaens is a lunar impact crater that lies along the southwestern edge of the Mare Fecunditatis, in the eastern part of the Moon's near side. It was named after 16th-century Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It lies to the south-southwest of the crater Goclenius, about midway between Gutenberg to the northwest and Colombo to the southeast.

Cockcroft (crater) lunar crater

Cockcroft is a lunar impact crater that is situated on the far side of the Moon from the Earth, so that it has only be observed and photographed from orbit. It lies to the northeast of the larger crater Fitzgerald, and southeast of Evershed.

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.

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.

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.