Lunar Orbiter 4 image | |
Coordinates | 28°24′N52°48′E / 28.4°N 52.8°E Coordinates: 28°24′N52°48′E / 28.4°N 52.8°E |
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Diameter | 43 km |
Depth | 3.4 km |
Colongitude | 308° at sunrise |
Eponym | Johann G. Tralles |
Tralles is an irregular lunar impact crater that is attached to the northwestern rim of the much larger crater Cleomedes, in the northeastern part of the Moon. Within one crater diameter to the northwest is Debes. The crater is named after the German mathematician and physicist Johann Georg Tralles. [1]
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.
Cleomedes is a prominent lunar impact crater located in the northeast part of the visible Moon, to the north of Mare Crisium. It was named after Greek astronomer Cleomedes. It is surrounded by rough ground with multiple crater impacts. The irregular crater Tralles intrudes into the northwest rim. To the east is Delmotte. North of Cleomedes is a triple-crater formation with Burckhardt occupying the center.
This is an oddly shaped crater formation with an irregular perimeter. The rugged interior has the appearance of three overlapping craters, with one at the south end, a second to the northeast and a third to the northwest. There are also several tiny craterlets located within the jumbled inner surface.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Tralles.
Tralles | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
A | 27.5° N | 47.0° E | 18 km |
B | 27.3° N | 50.6° E | 11 km |
C | 27.8° N | 49.4° E | 7 km |
Chacornac is an irregular lunar impact crater attached to the southeast rim of the crater Posidonius. It lies just to the east of the Mare Serenitatis, and north of the crater Le Monnier. The crater is named after French astronomer Jean Chacornac.
Carrel is a small lunar crater on the Mare Tranquillitatis. It has a somewhat distorted appearance, having a slight protruding bulge in the northwest rim. The interior is somewhat irregular, with ridges and some slumped material. This crater lies across a ridge in the surface of the mare.
Appleton is a heavily eroded lunar impact crater that lies in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. To the northwest are the craters Von Neumann and Campbel. The smaller Golovin lies to the northeast, while further to the southwest is the Mare Moscoviense.
Barrow is an old lunar impact crater that is located near the northern limb of the Moon. It lies between the crater Goldschmidt to the northwest and the irregular formation Meton to the northeast. To the southwest is W. Bond.
Calippus is a small lunar impact crater that is located on the eastern edge of the rugged Montes Caucasus mountain range in the northern part of the Moon. It was named after Greek astronomer Callippus of Cyzicus. It lies to the southwest of the crater remnant Alexander, to the northwest of the Mare Serenitatis.
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.
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.
Borda is a lunar impact crater that lies between Santbech to the north-northwest and Reichenbach slightly further away to the south-southeast. It was named after French astronomer Jean-Charles de Borda. It has a low rim that is broken along the southeast by a smaller crater. The rim is intruded into by another small crater along the southwest side, and there is an irregular cleft along the northwest face. There is a central peak at the midpoint of the floor.
Barbier is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It forms a matched pair with Cyrano to the north-northwest, and it lies to the southeast of the huge walled plain Gagarin. Southwest of Barbier is the crater Sierpinski, and to the southeast is the Mare Ingenii.
da Vinci is a lunar impact crater that is located in the eastern part of the Moon, to the northwest of Mare Fecunditatis. It lies along the eastern shore of the Sinus Concordiae, a bay along the eastern edge of Mare Tranquillitatis. Nearby craters include Watts to the southeast and Lawrence to the southwest, both smaller in dimension than da Vinci.
Chant is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, behind the southwest limb as seen from the Earth. It lies within the southwestern part of the blanket of ejecta surrounding the Mare Orientale, beyond the Montes Cordillera mountain ring. To the west-northwest is the large walled plain Blackett. Southward is the crater Mendel.
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.
Debes is a lunar impact crater that is located to the north of the Mare Crisium, in the eastern part of the Moon's near side. It was named after German cartographer Ernst Debes. It lies just to the northwest of the crater Tralles and the prominent Cleomedes.
Delaunay is a lunar impact crater. It was named after French astronomer Charles-Eugène Delaunay. The craters La Caille to the southwest and Faye to the northeast border on the outer rim of Delaunay. Further to the northwest is the prominent Arzachel.
Chauvenet is a lunar impact crater that is located to the northeast of the prominent crater Tsiolkovskiy on the far side of the Moon. Less than one crater diameter to the northwest of Chauvenet is the crater Ten Bruggencate.
Espin is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the northeastern limb. It lies to the west-southwest of the larger crater Seyfert, and northwest of Deutsch.
Feoktistov is a small lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies in the northern hemisphere, to the northwest of the Mare Moscoviense. This crater has a small outward extension along the northern side, giving it the appearance of two overlapping craters that have merged. There are slight indentations of the rim along the east and northwest sides. The rim is otherwise rounded and not significantly worn. Apart from an irregular strip in the northeast, the floor is relatively featureless.
Fersman is a large lunar impact crater on the Moon's far side. It lies to the east of the crater Poynting, and west-northwest of Weyl. To the south is the huge walled plain Hertzsprung.
Freundlich is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies midway between the craters Trumpler to the north-northwest and the irregular Buys-Ballot to the south-southeast. This crater has a circular rim that is more heavily eroded at the northern and southern ends. Groups of craters lie across the floor to the southeast and the north, and individual small craters lie elsewhere within the interior. The crater is named after Erwin Freundlich.
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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