Paschen (crater)

Paschen
	LRO WAC image
Coordinates	13°30′S139°48′W / 13.5°S 139.8°W Coordinates: 13°30′S139°48′W / 13.5°S 139.8°W
Diameter	124 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	142° at sunrise
Eponym	Friedrich Paschen

Last updated August 08, 2019

Paschen is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. The relatively large satellite crater Paschen M partly overlies the southern rim of Paschen, and they nearly form a merged pair with only a section of irregular terrain along their common border. The smaller but well-formed crater Paschen S lies across the southwestern rim of Paschen. As a result, most of the southern rim of Paschen is now gone.

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

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.

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.

The remainder of the rim is not in much better condition. It is worn and eroded, with multiple small craterlets along the edge and inner wall. Most of the rim structure has been worn away by subsequent impacts and deposits of ejecta, and now forms a rounded dip into the curving interior. A small chain of craters cuts across the rim and inner wall to the west-northwest. There are several small craterlets in the southeastern part of the floor.

Paschen lies to the east of the larger walled plain Galois, and to the southwest of the huge Hertzsprung. About half a crater diameter to the northeast of Paschen is Wan-Hoo. Farther to the north-northwest lies Sechenov.

Galois is a large lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. Features of this class are commonly termed walled plains, due to their appearance and dimension. It is located just to the southeast of another huge walled plain, Korolev, a formation nearly double the diameter of Galois. Several hundred kilometers due south is another enormous feature, Apollo.

Hertzsprung is an enormous lunar impact crater, or impact basin, that is located on the far side of the Moon, beyond the western limb. In dimension, this formation is larger than several of the lunar mare areas on the near side. It lies in the northwestern fringe of the blast radius of the Mare Orientale impact basin. Nearby craters of note include Michelson across the northeast rim, Vavilov across the western rim, and Lucretius to the southeast.

Wan-Hoo is a lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side, and it cannot be seen directly from the Earth. It lies to the southwest of the huge walled plain Hertzsprung, within the outer skirt of ejecta. Just to the south-southwest of Wan-Hoo is the larger crater Paschen, and a little over two crater diameters to the northwest is Sechenov.

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 Paschen.

Paschen	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
G	14.3° S	135.4° W	29 km
H	16.0° S	135.6° W	27 km
K	17.9° S	138.9° W	57 km
L	16.4° S	139.5° W	38 km
M	16.1° S	140.0° W	94 km
S	14.5° S	142.0° W	48 km
U	13.2° S	143.0° W	29 km

Related Research Articles

Herschel is a lunar impact crater located just to the north of the walled plain Ptolemaeus. Its diameter is 39 km. It was named after German-born British astronomer William Herschel.

Arrhenius is a lunar impact crater that is located just on the far side of the Moon, near the southwest limb. In this location the vicinity of the crater can be viewed during favorable librations, although it is viewed from on edge. To the south-southeast is the worn crater Blanchard, and De Roy lies further to the west.

Azophi is a lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged south-central highlands of the Moon. The crater is named after the 10th-century Persian astronomer Abd Al-Rahman Al Sufi, also known by his western name, Azophi. The northwest rim is attached to the slightly smaller crater Abenezra, to the east-southeast is the large and irregular Sacrobosco, and to the west-southwest is the slightly crater Playfair.

Baco is a lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged southern highlands on the near side of the Moon. The rim and inner wall has been eroded and worn by countless minor impacts since the original formation of the crater. As a result, any terraces have been worn smooth and the rim is overlaid by several tiny craterlets. The interior floor is nearly flat, with no characteristic central peak at the midpoint and no small craters of significance.

Fizeau is a prominent lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, in the southern hemisphere. Nearby craters of note include Minkowski to the west-northwest, and Eijkman to the southwest.

Breislak is a lunar impact crater that lies within one crater diameter north-northwest of the crater Baco, in the southern part of the Moon. To the north-northwest is the crater Barocius, and to the west lies Clairaut. This crater was named in honor of geologist Scipione Breislak.

Mercurius is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon. It lies to the northeast of the smaller crater Carrington, and west-northwest of Zeno. Just to the south is the small lunar mare named Lacus Spei, and to the west is the larger Lacus Temporis.

Cooper is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the east of the large walled plain D'Alembert, and west-southwest of the crater Chappell.

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.

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.

Congreve is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon relative to the Earth, and lies across the lunar equator. It lies to the west-northwest of the massive walled plain Korolev. To the southeast is the crater Icarus, and due north is Zhukovskiy.

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.

Quetelet is a lunar impact crater, approximately 55 kilometers in diameter, that lies in the Moon's northern hemisphere, on the far side from the Earth. It lies to the southeast of the crater Schlesinger, and to the east of Von Zeipel. To the east of Quetelet is Perrine.

Kurchatov is a lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side. It is just to the southwest of the crater Wiener, and farther to the southeast of Bridgman. A couple of crater diameters to the south of Kurchatov is the northern edge of the Mare Moscoviense.

Love is an impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It was named after British mathematician and geophysicist Augustus Edward Hough Love. It is located just to the north of the crater Perepelkin. Prager nearly touches the northeastern rim. To the northwest is Bečvář.

Weber is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon, and it cannot be viewed directly from the Earth's surface. This crater is attached to the northwest outer rim of the larger crater Sarton. About two crater diameters to the northwest is the eroded Kramers.

Wiener is a lunar impact crater that lies on the Moon's far side. It is located just to the southwest of the larger crater Campbell. To the southwest of Wiener is the heavily worn Kurchatov. To the east along the rim of Campbell is Von Neumann. The smaller crater Pawsey lies to the north-northwest, and is partly overlain by the outer rampart of Wiener.

Perkin is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the Moon's far side. Immediately to the north is the larger crater Debye. Just to the southeast is the somewhat smaller cater Guillaume, and to the west-southwest lies Dunér. To the northwest of Perkin is the large walled plain D'Alembert.

Sechenov is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the huge walled plain Hertzsprung, and to the east-southeast of the crater Timiryazev. To the south-southeast of Sechenov lies Paschen.

References

Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS . Retrieved 2007-08-05.
Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report . Retrieved 2007-10-24.
Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763.
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Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
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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.

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.

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.

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LRO WAC image
Coordinates	13°30′S139°48′W / 13.5°S 139.8°W / -13.5; -139.8 Coordinates: 13°30′S139°48′W / 13.5°S 139.8°W / -13.5; -139.8
Diameter	124 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	142° at sunrise
Eponym	Friedrich Paschen