Suess (lunar crater)

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Suess
Suess crater AS12-52-7753.jpg
Apollo 12 image, showing the crater's hummocky ejecta surrounding the rim
Coordinates 4°24′N47°36′W / 4.4°N 47.6°W / 4.4; -47.6 Coordinates: 4°24′N47°36′W / 4.4°N 47.6°W / 4.4; -47.6
Diameter 9 km
Depth 0.5 km
Colongitude 48° at sunrise
Eponym Eduard Suess
Oblique view of Suess (upper left) and its satellite craters H, D, and B, while at the terminator, from Lunar Orbiter 3 Suess and Suess H D B craters 3161 med.jpg
Oblique view of Suess (upper left) and its satellite craters H, D, and B, while at the terminator, from Lunar Orbiter 3
Lunar Orbiter 4 image Suess crater 4150 h1.jpg
Lunar Orbiter 4 image

Suess is a small lunar impact crater on the Oceanus Procellarum. It is a circular, cup-shaped feature with a higher albedo than the surroundings. The closest significant crater is Reiner, about 150 kilometers to the west-northwest. The lunar mare that surrounds Suess is marked by the rays radiating from the crater Kepler to the east-northeast.

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.

Oceanus Procellarum vast lunar mare on the western edge of the near side of Earths Moon

Oceanus Procellarum is a vast lunar mare on the western edge of the near side of the Moon. It is the only one of the lunar maria to be called an "Oceanus" (ocean), due to its size: Oceanus Procellarum is the largest of the maria, stretching more than 2,500 km (1,600 mi) across its north-south axis and covering roughly 4,000,000 km2 (1,500,000 sq mi), accounting for roughly 10.5% of the total lunar surface area.

The long, sinuous rille named Rima Suess begins about 30 kilometers to the east of Suess, and winds its way in a generally north-northwesterly direction for a length of almost 200 kilometers.

Rille fissure, especially on the Moon

Rille is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the surface of the Moon that resemble channels. The Latin term is rima, plural rimae. Typically a rille can be up to several kilometers wide and hundreds of kilometers in length. However, the term has also been used loosely to describe similar structures on a number of planets in the Solar System, including Mars, Venus, and on a number of moons. All bear a structural resemblance to each other.

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 Suess.

SuessLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
B5.7° N47.3° W8 km
D4.7° N46.5° W7 km
F1.1° N44.6° W7 km
G3.4° N48.4° W4 km
H4.0° N45.7° W4 km
J6.9° N48.5° W3 km
K6.5° N50.0° W3 km
L6.1° N50.5° W5 km

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Capella (crater) impact crater

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Flammarion (lunar crater) impact crater

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Flamsteed (crater) lunar crater

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Boss (crater) lunar impact crater

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Billy (crater) lunar crater

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Calippus (crater) lunar impact crater

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Belyaev (crater) lunar crater

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Buisson (crater) lunar crater

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Darney (crater) Lunar crater

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Damoiseau (crater) impact crater

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Dollond (crater) impact crater

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Eichstadt (crater) impact crater

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Faye (crater) lunar crater

Faye is a heavily eroded lunar impact crater in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. It is named after French astronomer Hervé Faye. It is attached to the northeastern rim of the crater Delaunay, with Donati located just a few kilometers to the northeast. It forms part of a chain of craters of increasing size to the southwest that continues with La Caille and ends with the walled plain Purbach.

Froelich is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located in the northern regions, just beyond the north-northwestern limb. Only a few kilometers separate this formation from the crater Lovelace to the north. Farther to the south is the crater Merrill, and to the southeast along the limb is the larger Brianchon.

References

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.