 Lunar Orbiter 4 image | |
| Coordinates | 32°42′N81°54′W / 32.7°N 81.9°W Coordinates: 32°42′N81°54′W / 32.7°N 81.9°W |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 54 km |
| Depth | 1.7 km |
| Colongitude | 83° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Ulugh Beg |
Ulugh Beigh is the remnant of a lunar impact crater that is located just to the west of the Oceanus Procellarum. It is located near the northwestern limb of the Moon, and from the Earth it appears foreshortened. Farther to the west is the smaller crater Aston, and to the north is Lavoisier. Both these craters are roughly equidistant from Ulugh Beigh, although Aston appears much closer due to the oblique viewing angle.
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.
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.
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The rim of this crater has been nearly worn away by impacts, leaving a disintegrated perimeter that is notched and incised by impacts. Ulugh Beigh D lies across the southern part of the floor, and a smaller crater along the western rim shares a common floor with Ulugh Beigh. The interior floor of this crater has been resurfaced by lava, leaving a dark surface with the same albedo as the neighboring mare. The northern part of the crater has a higher albedo than this dark surface, matching the appearance of the terrain to the west of the mare.
Lava is molten rock generated by geothermal energy and expelled through fractures in planetary crust or in an eruption, usually at temperatures from 700 to 1,200 °C. The structures resulting from subsequent solidification and cooling are also sometimes described as lava. The molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites, though such material located below the crust is referred to by other terms.
Albedo is the measure of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation out of the total solar radiation received by an astronomical body. It is dimensionless and measured on a scale from 0 to 1.
Ulugh Beigh A is located to the northeast of the main crater, and forms a flooded crater along the edge of the Oceanus Procellarum. This is a merged formation with a smaller crater lying across the southwest rim of the larger, and the two sharing a common dark floor.
This formation is named after the Timurid king and science patron Mīrzā Muhammad bin Shāhrukh, popularly known as Uluğ Bey (Chaghatai: great king), who supported the work of several well-known astronomers.
Mīrzā Muhammad Tāraghay bin Shāhrukh, better known as Ulugh Beg, was a Timurid Sultan as well as an astronomer and mathematician.
