Sternfeld (crater)

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Sternfeld
Sternfeld crater 5030 h2.jpg
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image
Coordinates 19°36′S141°12′W / 19.6°S 141.2°W / -19.6; -141.2 Coordinates: 19°36′S141°12′W / 19.6°S 141.2°W / -19.6; -141.2
Diameter 100 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 143° at sunrise
Eponym Ary A. Sternfeld

Sternfeld is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the south-southwest of the crater Paschen, and to the east-southeast of the smaller Lodygin.

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 is a heavily eroded crater formation with an outer rim that has been considerably worn by subsequent impacts. As a result, the outer rim is irregular and poorly defined. Intruding slightly into the northwestern outer rim is the satellite crater Lodygin F. The northern part of the rim and interior floor are marked by a number of smaller impacts. There is a small crater in the southern part of the interior floor.

It is named after Ary A. Sternfeld, Soviet spaceflight scientist. The name was adopted by IAU in 1991. [1]

Ary Abramovich Sternfeld Russian early spaceflight scientists

Ary Sternfeld was co-creator of the modern aerospace science. He was a Polish engineer of Jewish origin, who studied in Poland and France. From 1935 until his death he worked in Moscow.

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References

  1. Planetary Names: Crater, craters: Sternfeld on Moon, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union
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.

United States Geological Survey Scientific agency of the United States government

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.