Lunar Orbiter 2 image | |
Coordinates | 19°48′S171°06′E / 19.8°S 171.1°E Coordinates: 19°48′S171°06′E / 19.8°S 171.1°E |
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Diameter | 187 km |
Depth | Unknown |
Colongitude | 189° at sunrise |
Eponym | Marinus Vertregt |
Vertregt is the ancient remnant of a large lunar impact crater. It is located on the far side of the Moon, to the north of the unusual walled plain Van de Graaff. The prominent crater Aitken lies across the northeast rim of Vertregt, and Zwicky is attached to the northwestern rim.
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.
Vertregt has been heavily eroded and reshaped by subsequent events, leaving only a few segments of the outer rim still visible. The northwestern section of the rim is the most intact portion, although even this arcing ridge is marked by small craterlets.
The interior consists of rugged ridges and smaller impacts, most prominently the crater pair of Vertregt L and Vertregt K in the southeast. There is a wide rift leading from the southern end of the crater floor towards Van de Graaff.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Vertregt.
Vertregt | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
J | 21.5° S | 174.3° E | 17 km |
K | 20.1° S | 172.0° E | 27 km |
L | 21.1° S | 171.5° E | 38 km |
P | 23.6° S | 170.0° E | 24 km |
R | 21.8° S | 167.1° E | 25 km |
Eddington is the lava-flooded remnant of a lunar impact crater, located on the western part of Oceanus Procellarum. The western rim is attached to the wall of the walled plain Struve. To the east-southeast is the smaller but prominent crater Seleucus. South of Eddington is Krafft.
Aitken is a large lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, named for Robert Grant Aitken, an American astronomer specializing in binary stellar systems. It is located to the southeast of the crater Heaviside, and north of the unusual formation Van de Graaff. Attached to the southwest rim is Vertregt. To the southeast is the smaller Bergstrand.
Van de Graaff is a crater formation located on the far side of the Moon, on the northeast edge of Mare Ingenii.
Thomson is a lunar impact crater that is located within the Mare Ingenii on the far side of the Moon. Just to the northeast is the unusual merged crater formation of Van de Graaff. On the northwest rim of the mare is O'Day, and to the south-southwest is Obruchev on the southern shore of Mare Ingenii.
Atwood is a small lunar impact crater that is located on the Mare Fecunditatis, to the northwest of the prominent crater Langrenus. It forms a triple-crater formation with Naonobu attached to the north rim and Bilharz near the west rim.
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.
Bergstrand is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon. It is located just to the southeast of the prominent crater Aitken, and northeast of the walled plain Vertregt.
Blanchinus is a lunar impact crater that is situated in the rugged south-central highlands of the Moon. The crater is named after Italian astronomer Giovanni Bianchini whose Latinized name is Blanchinus. Adjacent to the south of Blanchinus is the crater Werner, and La Caille is attached to the northwest rim. West of the crater is the prominent formation Purbach.
Biela is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged highlands of the southeastern Moon. It is named after Austrian astronomer Wilhelm von Biela. The crater lies to the east of Rosenberger, to the southeast of the Watt–Steinheil double crater.
Bowditch is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the eastern limb. It is located on a region of the lunar surface that is brought into view due to libration, but at such times the area is viewed from the edge and so not much detail can be observed. It lies just to the north of the small Lacus Solitudinis lunar mare, between the craters Titius to the southwest and Perel'man to the east-northeast.
Birkeland is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. This crater is attached to the central waist of the oddly shaped Van de Graaff crater formation, and may partly account for that crater's figure-8 shape. To the southeast is the large walled plain Leibnitz.
Bunsen is a lunar impact crater that lies near the northwestern limb of the Moon. It is located to the west of the Oceanus Procellarum and the crater von Braun. To the southeast is the crater Lavoisier, and to the northeast lies Gerard. Northwest of Bunsen, on the far side of the Moon, is McLaughlin. Due to its position this crater appears foreshortened when viewed from the Earth, and its visibility is affected by libration.
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.
Cannizzaro is a lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side as seen from the Earth, just beyond the northwestern limb. It lies in a region of the surface that is sometimes brought into view due to the effects of libration, but not much detail can be seen since this feature is viewed from the side. The crater lies across the southwestern rim of the much larger-walled plain Poczobutt.
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.
Congreve is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon relative to the Earth, and lies across the lunar equator. It lies to the west-northwest of the massive walled plain Korolev. To the southeast is the crater Icarus, and due north is Zhukovskiy.
Seares is a lunar impact crater located in the northern part of the Moon's far side. It lies to the east-northeast of the walled plain Schwarzschild, and to the west of the prominent crater Karpinskiy.
Douglass is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the crater Frost and south-southwest of the large walled plain Landau.
Nassau is a lunar impact crater on the Moon's far side. It abuts against the northeastern rim of the figure-8-shaped crater Van de Graaff. To the southeast of Nassau lies the crater Leeuwenhoek, and to the east is Orlov.
Röntgen is a relatively large lunar impact crater that lies along the northwestern limb of the Moon. Its northwestern outer rim is partly overlain by the crater Nernst. Both Nernst and Röntgen overlie the eastern rim of the much larger walled plain Lorentz. The smaller crater Aston is separated from the eastern edge of Röntgen by only a few kilometers of terrain. To the south-southeast is Voskresenskiy.
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.