Shapley (crater)

Shapley
	Apollo 15 image
Coordinates	9°24′N56°54′E / 9.4°N 56.9°E Coordinates: 9°24′N56°54′E / 9.4°N 56.9°E
Diameter	23 km
Colongitude	304° at sunrise
Eponym	Harlow Shapley

Last updated August 07, 2019

Shapley Crater as viewed from Earth on a telescope at the University of Hertordshire's Bayfordbury Observatory Shapley lunar crater map.jpg — Shapley Crater as viewed from Earth on a telescope at the University of Hertordshire's Bayfordbury Observatory

Shapley is a lunar impact crater that lies along the southern edge of Mare Crisium. It was named after American astronomer Harlow Shapley.^[1] It was previously designated Picard H. However the crater Picard lies about 150 kilometers to the north-northwest across the Mare Crisium. Somewhat closer to this crater are Tebbutt to the west, and Firmicus to the east-southeast.

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.

Mare Crisium is a lunar mare located in the Moon's Crisium basin, just northeast of Mare Tranquillitatis. The basin is of the Pre-Imbrian period, 4.55 to 3.85 billion years ago.

This crater is roughly circular, but appears somewhat oval when viewed from the Earth due to foreshortening. The interior wall is slightly wider in the southern half, and the outer ridge is attached to a ridge that leads to the south then southeast. The interior floor has a dark hue that matches the adjacent lunar mare, having a lower albedo than the terrain to the south. There is a low central peak near the midpoint of the floor.

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence, Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago. Earth's gravity interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon, Earth's only natural satellite. Earth orbits around the Sun in 365.26 days, a period known as an Earth year. During this time, Earth rotates about its axis about 366.26 times.

The lunar maria are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. They were dubbed maria, Latin for "seas", by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas. They are less reflective than the "highlands" as a result of their iron-rich composition, and hence appear dark to the naked eye. The maria cover about 16% of the lunar surface, mostly on the side visible from Earth. The few maria on the far side are much smaller, residing mostly in very large craters. The traditional nomenclature for the Moon also includes one oceanus (ocean), as well as features with the names lacus (lake), palus (marsh), and sinus (bay). The last three are smaller than maria, but have the same nature and characteristics.

Albedo is the measure of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation out of the total solar radiation received by an astronomical body. It is dimensionless and measured on a scale from 0 to 1.

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Fahrenheit is a tiny lunar impact crater located in the southeast part of the Mare Crisium. This area of the surface is nearly devoid of impact features of interest. To the east are the Dorsa Harker wrinkle ridges, and beyond them is Promontorium Agarum at the edge of the mare. The landing site of the Soviet Luna 24 probe is located about 15 kilometers to the southeast.

Carrel is a small lunar crater on the Mare Tranquillitatis. It has a somewhat distorted appearance, having a slight protruding bulge in the northwest rim. The interior is somewhat irregular, with ridges and some slumped material. This crater lies across a ridge in the surface of the mare.

Curtis is a very small lunar impact crater that lies in the western Mare Crisium, to the east of the crater Picard. It is a circular, cup-shaped formation that is otherwise undistinguished. It was named after American astronomer Heber D. Curtis in 1973. In the past it was designated Picard Z.

Yerkes is a lunar impact crater near the western edge of Mare Crisium. It was named after American financier Charles Yerkes. To the east of Yerkes is the crater Picard, and farther to the north is Peirce.

Cleomedes is a prominent lunar impact crater located in the northeast part of the visible Moon, to the north of Mare Crisium. It was named after Greek astronomer Cleomedes. It is surrounded by rough ground with multiple crater impacts. The irregular crater Tralles intrudes into the northwest rim. To the east is Delmotte. North of Cleomedes is a triple-crater formation with Burckhardt occupying the center.

Alhazen is a lunar impact crater that lies near the eastern limb of the Moon's near side. Just to the south-southeast is the crater Hansen, and to the west is the Mare Crisium. The rim of Alhazen is nearly circular, but appears highly oblong when viewed from the Earth due to foreshortening. The inner walls and the crater floor are rugged and irregular. A low ridge joins the south rim of Alhazen with the nearby Hansen. The crater is named after the Arab Muslim scientist, Ibn al-Haytham.

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.

Greaves is a small lunar impact crater that lies near the southwest edge of Mare Crisium. It is a circular, bowl-shaped formation with a small interior floor at the center of the sloping inner walls. The crater is intruding into the northern edge of the lava-flooded crater Lick. To the northwest is Yerkes, and to the northeast is Picard.

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.

da Vinci is a lunar impact crater that is located in the eastern part of the Moon, to the northwest of Mare Fecunditatis. It lies along the eastern shore of the Sinus Concordiae, a bay along the eastern edge of Mare Tranquillitatis. Nearby craters include Watts to the southeast and Lawrence to the southwest, both smaller in dimension than da Vinci.

Tebbutt is a lunar impact crater that is located near the southwestern edge of Mare Crisium. It was named after Australian astronomer John Tebbutt. It was formerly designated Picard G before being named by the IAU, and lies south of the crater Picard. To the north of Tebbutt, but farther east than Picard, is the flooded Lick.

van Albada is a lunar impact crater that is attached to the south-southeastern rim of Auzout. It lies southeast of Mare Crisium, and north-northeast of the larger crater Firmicus. Directly to the east is Krogh.

Peirce is a small lunar impact crater in the western part of Mare Crisium. That dark, circular lunar mare is located in the east-northeasterly part of the Moon's near side. It was named after the American mathematician Benjamin Peirce. Peirce lies to the north of the craters Yerkes and Picard, and southeast of Macrobius located outside the mare. Just over a crater diameter to the north of Peirce is the smaller Swift. To the northwest is the wrinkle ridge Dorsum Oppel.

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.

Eckert is a tiny, isolated lunar impact crater in the northern part of the Mare Crisium. This crater forms a circular pit in the dark surface of the surrounding lunar mare. Just to the west is a wrinkle ridge in the mare surface, a feature that is prominent only under oblique lighting from the Sun. The nearest craters of note are Peirce to the west-northwest, and Picard to the southwest. Both of these craters lie in the Mare Crisium basin.

Macrobius is a prominent lunar impact crater located to the northwest of the Mare Crisium. Its diameter is 63 km. It was named after ancient Roman writer Macrobius. It lies on the southeast edge of the Lacus Bonitatis, a small lunar mare. The somewhat smaller crater Tisserand lies just to the east.

Debes is a lunar impact crater that is located to the north of the Mare Crisium, in the eastern part of the Moon's near side. It was named after German cartographer Ernst Debes. It lies just to the northwest of the crater Tralles and the prominent Cleomedes.

Delmotte is a small lunar impact crater that lies just to the east of the much larger crater Cleomedes, and to the north of the Mare Crisium, in the northeastern part of the Moon. Delmotte appears foreshortened when viewed from the Earth, although not sufficiently to obscure the interior details.

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.

Eichstadt is a lunar impact crater that is located in the eastern section of the Montes Cordillera range that encircles the Mare Orientale impact basin. It lies toward the southwestern limb of the Moon, and so appears oblong when viewed from the Earth due to foreshortening. Over 200 kilometers to the east of Eichstadt are the craters Darwin and Lamarck, and to the south is Krasnov.

References

↑ "Shapley (crater)" . Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.

Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
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.

Ben J. Bussey is an American planetary scientist.

External links

LTO-62A3 Shapley — L&PI topographic map

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[1] "Shapley (crater)" . Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.

Shapley (crater)

Contents

See also

Related Research Articles

References

External links

Apollo 15 image
Coordinates	9°24′N56°54′E / 9.4°N 56.9°E / 9.4; 56.9 Coordinates: 9°24′N56°54′E / 9.4°N 56.9°E / 9.4; 56.9
Diameter	23 km
Colongitude	304° at sunrise
Eponym	Harlow Shapley