Lunar Orbiter 4 image | |
Coordinates | 4°36′S28°30′E / 4.6°S 28.5°E Coordinates: 4°36′S28°30′E / 4.6°S 28.5°E |
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Diameter | 23 km |
Depth | 2.1 km |
Colongitude | 331° at sunrise |
Eponym | Evangelista Torricelli |
Torricelli is a lunar impact crater in the eastern part of the Sinus Asperitatis, to the south of the Mare Tranquillitatis. It was named after Italian physicist Evangelista Torricelli. [1] The western rim of the crater is broken open and joined to a smaller crater to the west. The entire formation has a pear-shaped appearance. Torricelli lies in the northeastern part of a circular formation of rises in the lunar mare, possibly the remains of a crater formation buried by lava.
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.
Sinus Asperitatis is an area of lunar mare that extends southward from the Mare Tranquillitatis until it joins the Mare Nectaris to the southeast. It is bordered along the western and eastern sides by continental regions of irregular terrain. The selenographic coordinates of this feature are 3.8° S, 27.4° E, and it has a diameter of 206 km.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Torricelli.
Torricelli | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
A | 4.5° S | 29.8° E | 11 km |
B | 2.6° S | 29.1° E | 7 km |
C | 2.7° S | 26.0° E | 11 km |
F | 4.2° S | 29.4° E | 7 km |
G | 1.4° S | 27.0° E | 4 km |
H | 3.3° S | 25.3° E | 7 km |
J | 3.6° S | 25.1° E | 5 km |
K | 4.0° S | 25.2° E | 6 km |
L | 3.5° S | 24.3° E | 4 km |
M | 3.6° S | 31.2° E | 14 km |
N | 6.1° S | 29.2° E | 4 km |
P | 6.5° S | 29.9° E | 4 km |
R | 5.2° S | 28.1° E | 87 km |
T | 4.2° S | 27.5° E | 3 km |
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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.
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