Coordinates | 65°12′N162°24′W / 65.2°N 162.4°W |
---|---|
Diameter | 169 km |
Depth | Unknown |
Colongitude | 165° at sunrise |
Eponym | Arnold J. Sommerfeld |
Sommerfeld is a sizable lunar impact crater situated in the far northern latitudes of the Moon. Located on the far side, it can only be observed from orbit. Positioned to the south of Sommerfeld is Rowland, a crater about the same size as Sommerfeld. Southeast of Sommerfeld lies the huge walled plain Birkhoff.
This crater is classified as a walled plain on the lunar surface, characterized by a relatively flat interior encircled by a ring mountain. Its outer rim exhibits moderate erosion, retaining traces of a terrace structure albeit softened and rounded. Along the rim edge and inner wall to the south and southeast, several small craterlets are present. Additionally, a merged pair of small craters is attached to the southern outer rim. The inner wall appears slightly wider along the eastern side, possibly due to deposits of ejecta from nearby impacts.
The interior floor of Sommerfeld consists of a nearly level plain, likely smoothed out by deposits of materials over time. Some small craters are observed on the eastern edge of the interior. Notably, there is no central peak complex, with only a small hill present at the midpoint.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Sommerfeld.
Sommerfeld | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
N | 62.3° N | 162.2° W | 39 km |
V | 66.9° N | 170.3° W | 32 km |
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Birkhoff is a giant lunar walled plain that is located on the far side of the Moon, in the northern hemisphere. This formation is an ancient impact site that has been heavily eroded, and the surface reshaped by multiple craters in the interior and along the rim. The outer wall is bordered by the craters Carnot to the south, Rowland along the west rim, and Stebbins to the north. Just to the northeast is van't Hoff.
Birkeland is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. This crater is attached to the central waist of the oddly shaped Van de Graaff crater formation, and may partly account for that crater's figure-8 shape. To the southeast is the large walled plain Leibnitz.
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Chebyshev is a large lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. The somewhat smaller crater Langmuir is intruding into the east-southeastern rim of Chebyshev, forming a chain of large craters with Brouwer on Langmuir's eastern rim.
d'Alembert is a large lunar impact crater located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon, to the northeast of the somewhat smaller walled plain Campbell. Astride the southwest rim of d'Alembert is Slipher. To the north is the crater Yamamoto, and to the south-southwest lies Langevin. This walled plain has the same diameter as Clavius on the near side, making it one of the largest such formations on the Moon.
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