LRO mosaic | |
Coordinates | 73°30′N145°48′E / 73.5°N 145.8°E Coordinates: 73°30′N145°48′E / 73.5°N 145.8°E |
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Diameter | 110 km |
Depth | Unknown |
Colongitude | 220° at sunrise |
Eponym | Frederick H. Seares |
Seares is a lunar impact crater located in the northern part of the Moon's far side. It lies to the east-northeast of the walled plain Schwarzschild, and to the west of the prominent crater Karpinskiy.
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 rim of this old crater is worn and battered by impacts, and now forms an irregular ring of peaks, valleys and ridges about the interior floor. The satellite crater Seares B lies across the northeastern rim. There are small craters across several other parts of the rim. The northwestern rim and outer rampart of Seares overlies half of an old crater that is nearly as large in radius.
The interior floor is nearly level in places, but is marked by a multitude of tiny craterlets of various dimensions. A series of ridges, grooves, and small craters forms a band across the central part of the floor from west to east.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Seares.
Seares | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
B | 75.7° N | 149.7° E | 26 km |
Y | 77.9° N | 139.5° E | 37 km |
Faraday is a lunar impact crater in the southern highlands of the Moon. It was named after British chemist and physicist Michael Faraday. It lies across the southeast rim of the larger crater Stöfler, and the northwest rim of Faraday forms a wide rampart across the otherwise flat floor of Stöfler. To the east of Faraday is Maurolycus.
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.
Byrd is an irregular lunar impact crater that is located near the north pole of the Moon. The north rim of Byrd is nearly connected to the crater Peary, a formation that is adjacent to the pole. The smaller crater Gioja is attached to the remains of the southwest rim.
Blanchinus is a lunar impact crater that is situated in the rugged south-central highlands of the Moon. The crater is named after Italian astronomer Giovanni Bianchini whose Latinized name is Blanchinus. Adjacent to the south of Blanchinus is the crater Werner, and La Caille is attached to the northwest rim. West of the crater is the prominent formation Purbach.
Beals is a lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon, and lies across the southwestern rim of the crater Riemann. From the Earth the crater is viewed nearly from on edge, and is best seen during favorable librations. To the west is the large walled plain Gauss.
Desargues is an ancient lunar impact crater that is located near the northern limb of the Moon, on the western hemisphere. It lies nearly due south of the crater Pascal, and southeast of Brianchon. The proximity of this crater to the limb means that it appears highly elongated due to foreshortening, and it is difficult to discern details from the Earth.
Buys-Ballot is an oddly-shaped lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies just to the northwest of the small lunar mare named Lacus Luxuriae, and southeast of the crater Freundlich. Other nearby craters of note are Anderson to the southwest and Dante to the northeast.
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.
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Fermi is a large lunar impact crater of the category named a walled plain. It was named after Italian-American physicist and Nobel laureate Enrico Fermi. It lies on the far side of the Moon and can not be viewed from the Earth. Thus this feature must be viewed from an orbiting spacecraft.
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Cichus is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southwestern part of the Moon, at the eastern edge of Palus Epidemiarum. Just to the northeast and nearly contacting the rim is the lava-flooded crater remnant Weiss. The crater is named after Italian astronomer Cecco d'Ascoli.
Charlier is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. To the south-southeast is the larger crater Kovalevskaya, and northeast of Charlier is Perrine.
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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.
Fersman is a large lunar impact crater on the Moon's far side. It lies to the east of the crater Poynting, and west-northwest of Weyl. To the south is the huge walled plain Hertzsprung.
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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.