Sasserides (crater)

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Sasserides
Sasserides crater 4119 h2.jpg
Coordinates 39°06′S9°18′W / 39.1°S 9.3°W / -39.1; -9.3 Coordinates: 39°06′S9°18′W / 39.1°S 9.3°W / -39.1; -9.3
Diameter 90 km
Depth 1.8 km
Colongitude 9° at sunrise
Eponym Gellio Sasceride

Sasserides is the remains of a lunar impact crater in the southern part of the Moon. It was named after Danish astronomer Gellio Sasceride. [1] It is located less than one crater diameter to the north of the prominent crater Tycho, and west of Orontius. To the north is Ball.

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 formation has been so battered and ruined by impacts that it is scarcely recognizable as a crater. Only a short section of the rim along the southwest side survives, with the remainder overlaid or modified by impacts of various dimensions. The most notable of these are an arc of craters along the northern rim consisting of Sasserides P, G, and C. This last crater has a low central peak at its midpoint. The interior floor is somewhat more even than the surrounding rim, although it has a short chain of worn craters in the eastern half.

Satellite craters

Sasserides and its satellite craters Sasserides sattelite craters map.jpg
Sasserides and its 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 Sasserides.

SasseridesLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A39.9° S7.0° W48 km
B39.5° S11.2° W9 km
D36.7° S6.5° W11 km
E38.9° S7.7° W8 km
F40.5° S9.9° W16 km
H39.2° S10.9° W12 km
K39.0° S7.4° W8 km
L40.0° S6.6° W5 km
M37.9° S7.1° W11 km
N38.7° S7.0° W7 km
P38.0° S10.7° W21 km
S38.7° S8.0° W15 km

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References

  1. "Sasserides (crater)" . Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
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.

Ben J. Bussey is an American planetary scientist.