Sarton (crater)

Sarton
	Clementine mosaic
Coordinates	49°18′N121°06′W / 49.3°N 121.1°W Coordinates: 49°18′N121°06′W / 49.3°N 121.1°W
Diameter	69 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	122° at sunrise
Eponym	George A. L. Sarton

Last updated August 08, 2019

Sarton is a lunar impact crater that lies beyond the northwestern limb of the Moon, on the far side from the Earth. It is located to the southwest of the crater Coulomb, to the north of the walled plain Landau. Nearly attached to the northwestern rim is the smaller Weber.

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.

Although roughly circular, this is a somewhat oddly shaped crater that is slightly elongated to the south. The western and eastern outer rims are slightly straightened, giving the crater a slightly hexagonal form. The inner wall is wider along the southern and southeastern sides than in the north. The crater is worn and its features have lost some definition. The interior floor is nearly level, with the exception of a double-peaked central rise. To the northwest of this ridge is a small, cup-shaped crater.

In geometry, a hexagon is a six-sided polygon or 6-gon. The total of the internal angles of any simple (non-self-intersecting) hexagon is 720°.

Sarton lies within the Coulomb-Sarton Basin, a 530 km wide impact crater of Pre-Nectarian age. The craters Sarton Y and Sarton Z are closest to the center of the basin.

The Coulomb-Sarton Basin is a Pre-Nectarian impact basin on the far side of the moon. It is named after the crater Coulomb northeast of the center of the basin and the smaller crater Sarton just south of the center. The basin is not obvious on the lunar surface. There are only small fragments of inner rings and a rim, and the most indicative topographic feature is a smooth, low plain at the center.

The pre-Nectarian period of the lunar geologic timescale runs from 4.533 billion years ago to 3.920 billion years ago, when the Nectaris Basin was formed by a large impact. It is followed by the Nectarian period.

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 Sarton.

Sarton	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
L	47.0° N	120.0° W	48 km
Y	51.5° N	121.3° W	26 km
Z	51.6° N	120.6° W	29 km

Related Research Articles

Anders is a worn lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies just to the southeast of the outer rim of the huge walled basin named Apollo. To the south-southeast is the crater Leavitt.

Landau is a large lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It was named after physicist Lev Landau. The crater Wegener is attached to the northeastern rim. Attached to the southeastern rim is Frost.

Kramers is an old lunar impact crater that is located on the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies some distance to the west of the larger crater Coulomb, and to the northwest of the smaller Weber.

Ellison is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon from the Earth. It is located just beyond the northwest limb of the Moon, to the southwest of the large walled plain Poczobutt. Due west of Ellison is the crater Coulomb.

Barringer is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It is attached to the north-northeastern rim of the walled basin named Apollo, and lies to the southeast of Plummer. South of Barringer, on the floor of the Apollo basin, is the crater Scobee.

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.

De Roy is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just behind the southwestern limb. This portion of the lunar surface is brought into view during favorable librations, allowing observation of this formation. However the crater is viewed from the side when watched from the Earth, and little detail can be seen. De Roy lies to the west of the crater Arrhenius, and east of the larger Boltzmann.

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.

Lagrange is a lunar impact crater that is attached to the northwestern rim of the crater Piazzi. It lies near the southwestern limb of the Moon, and the appearance is oblong due to foreshortening. To the northwest of this feature is the Montes Cordillera, a ring-shaped mountain range that surrounds the immense Mare Orientale impact basin.

Chevallier is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon's near side, about a crater diameter east-southeast of the prominent crater Atlas. To the south-southeast of Chevallier is the flooded crater Shuckburgh.

Coulomb is a lunar impact crater that lies behind the northwestern limb, on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the west-southwest of the large crater Poczobutt, and northeast of Sarton.

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.

Douglass is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the crater Frost and south-southwest of the large walled plain Landau.

Fridman is the remains of a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies due south of the huge walled plain Hertzsprung, and is attached to the northeastern rim of the crater Ioffe.

Hartmann is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies astride the west-southwestern rim of the huge walled plain Mendeleev, and intrudes part way into the wide inner wall of this feature. Nearly attached to the northwestern rim of Hartmann is the crater Green.

Gullstrand is a lunar impact crater that lies on the northern hemisphere on the Moon's far side. About one crater diameter to the southeast is the larger crater Perrine. To the west-southwest is Quetelet.

Stefan is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the northwestern limb. Attached to the western rim is the slightly smaller crater Wegener, and close to the eastern rim is Rynin.

Wegener is a lunar impact crater that is located in the Moon's northern hemisphere, about midway between the equator and the north pole. It lies on the far side from the Earth, behind the northwestern limb. The southwestern rim of Wegener intrudes slightly into the much larger walled plain Landau. Attached to the eastern rim is the crater Stefan.

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.

Wood is a lunar impact crater that lies entirely within the interior of the much larger walled plain Landau, on the far side of Moon. Wood is situated along the northwestern part of the floor of Landau, and shares a common northwestern rim with the larger impact. The inner wall of the northwest rim extends inward about halfway toward the crater midpoint, where there is a central peak. The rim of Wood is somewhat worn and uneven, with a small crater laid across the southwest section. The surviving interior floor is nearly level and is marked only by a few tiny craterlets.

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.
Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.

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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Clementine mosaic
Coordinates	49°18′N121°06′W / 49.3°N 121.1°W / 49.3; -121.1 Coordinates: 49°18′N121°06′W / 49.3°N 121.1°W / 49.3; -121.1
Diameter	69 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	122° at sunrise
Eponym	George A. L. Sarton