Sumner (crater)

Sumner
	LRO image, with Sumner at left
Coordinates	37°30′N108°42′E / 37.5°N 108.7°E Coordinates: 37°30′N108°42′E / 37.5°N 108.7°E
Diameter	50 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	252° at sunrise
Eponym	Thomas H. Sumner

Last updated August 07, 2019

Sumner is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon, beyond the northeastern limb. It is southwest of the larger crater Szilard, and southeast of the twin walled plains Fabry and Harkhebi.

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.

This crater formation has been heavily damaged by a history of impacts, leaving an irregular, battered outer rim. A smaller impact crater has merged into the southern rim; the northern rim is little more than an irregular, arcing range of ridges. The interior is nearly as irregular, and the entire formation is little more than a rugged depression in the surface.

Starting about 30 kilometers to the north of Sumner and progressing to the east-southeast is a long, linear chain of craters that forms an irregular cleft in the surface. This formation is named Catena Sumner after the nearby crater. It progresses to the northeast rim of Harriot A, a satellite crater of Harriot.

Harriot is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon from the Earth. It lies just to the north of the much larger crater Seyfert. To the northeast of Harriot is the crater Cantor. About one and a half crater diameters to the north of Harriot is the eastern end of a crater chain named Catena Sumner. This feature continues to the west-northwest for a distance of 247 km, passing to the north of the crater Sumner.

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 Sumner.

Sumner	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
G	37.2° N	110.2° E	18 km

Related Research Articles

Shaler is a lunar impact crater that lies on the southeast interior edge of the Montes Cordillera mountain ring that surrounds the immense Mare Orientale formation. It is located near the southwest limb of the Moon on the near side, and so is viewed nearly from on edge from the Earth. Just to the northwest of the crater is the slightly smaller crater Wright.

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.

Boyle is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the rugged far side of the Moon. It is adjacent to the larger crater Hess to the southeast, and lies about midway between the craters Alder to the north-northeast and Abbe to the south-southwest.

Dawson is a lunar impact crater that lies on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies across a crater triplet: the southeast rim is intruding into the crater Alekhin; the northwest rim also intrudes into the larger satellite crater Dawson V, and the northeast rim is attached to the comparably sized Dawson D. To the south of this formation is the large crater Zeeman. West of Dawson is the crater Crommelin, and to the north lies Fizeau.

Bel'kovich is a large lunar impact crater of the form termed a walled plain. The formation has been heavily eroded by a history of subsequent impacts, leaving it reshaped, worn, and the features softened and rounded. Bel'kovich is located along the northeastern limb of the Moon, and so its visibility is subject to libration effects. From the Earth this crater is viewed from the side, making it difficult to view it in detail.

Bohr is a lunar impact crater that is located near the western lunar limb, in the area that is affected by librations. It is attached to the southwestern rim of the larger, eroded Vasco da Gama formation, and to the southeast of the crater Einstein. The crater was observed for the first time in 1963 by Arthus and Ewen Whitaker in the book Rectified Lunar Atlas.

Chamberlin is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just past the southeastern limb. It lies to the southeast of the crater Jeans, and Moulton is attached to the southeastern rim of Chamberlin. This crater is located in a part of the lunar surface that has undergone resurfacing of crater interiors, producing dark-hued crater floors.

Bragg is an ancient lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the northwest limb. This formation has been heavily eroded and reshaped by subsequent impacts, leaving an irregular depression in the surface. The most intact portion of the rim is along the western face, while the northern and eastern rim has been nearly worn away and is overlaid by several smaller craters. The most notable of these is Bragg H, which lies across the east-southeastern rim.

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.

Fabry is a large lunar impact crater of the form termed a walled plain. It is located on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the northeastern limb. Parts of this area are sometimes brought into view by the effects of libration, but the terrain is seen from the edge and so not much in the way of detail can be observed.

Brouwer is a large lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. Intruding into the western rim of Brouwer is the younger and somewhat smaller crater Langmuir. Further to the east-southeast is the larger walled plain Blackett.

De Roy is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just behind the southwestern limb. This portion of the lunar surface is brought into view during favorable librations, allowing observation of this formation. However the crater is viewed from the side when watched from the Earth, and little detail can be seen. De Roy lies to the west of the crater Arrhenius, and east of the larger Boltzmann.

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.

Darwin is a lunar impact crater of the type categorised as a walled plain. It lies in the southeastern part of the Moon, and is sufficiently close to the limb to appear significantly foreshortened when viewed from the Earth. Attached to its southern rim is Lamarck. To the northeast is the dark-floored crater Crüger.

Challis is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern regions of the Moon's near side, close enough to the limb to appear significantly foreshortened when viewed from the Earth. It is joined to the crater Main through a break in the northern rim, and is close to Scoresby along the southeast side.

Chappell is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, in the northern hemisphere just to the north of the crater Debye. This feature is located in a heavily bombarded section of the surface, and much of the outer rim of the crater is overlain by many smaller craters. The northern rim in particular has been almost completely disintegrated, while small craters also overlie the rim to the northwest and southeast. What remains of the rim forms a rounded, somewhat irregular edge to the crater depression.

Chevallier is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon's near side, about a crater diameter east-southeast of the prominent crater Atlas. To the south-southeast of Chevallier is the flooded crater Shuckburgh.

Chandler is a lunar impact crater in the northern hemisphere, on the Moon's far side. It lies to the southeast of the large walled plain D'Alembert, and southeast of the slightly smaller Chernyshev crater.

Evershed is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon, named after the English solar astronomer John Evershed. It is located to the northeast of the larger crater Cockcroft, and to the north of the smaller Van den Bergh.

References

Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS . Retrieved 2007-08-05.
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.

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.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

LRO image, with Sumner at left
Coordinates	37°30′N108°42′E / 37.5°N 108.7°E / 37.5; 108.7 Coordinates: 37°30′N108°42′E / 37.5°N 108.7°E / 37.5; 108.7
Diameter	50 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	252° at sunrise
Eponym	Thomas H. Sumner