Walther (crater)

Walther
	Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates	33°00′S0°42′E / 33.0°S 0.7°E Coordinates: 33°00′S0°42′E / 33.0°S 0.7°E
Diameter	132 × 140 km
Depth	4.1 km
Colongitude	359° at sunrise
Eponym	Bernhard Walther

Last updated February 19, 2021

Walther is an ancient lunar impact crater located in the southern highland region of the Moon. It is joined along the western rim to the crater Deslandres. To the northeast is Aliacensis, and joined to the southeast rim is the irregular Nonius.

Description

The rim of Walther is complex, heavily eroded and incised by lesser impacts. The wall retains a generally circular form, but many of its features have been worn away and there is a slight protruding bulge in the western rim. The floor has been resurfaced after the original impact, leaving the southwestern half relatively smooth. In the northwest quadrant is an offset central peak that has been worn and impacted by several small craters.

Names

Walther is named after the German astronomer Bernhard Walther.^[1] Like many of the craters on the Moon's near side, it was named (in the Latin form, 'Valtherus') by Giovanni Riccioli, whose 1651 nomenclature system has become standardized.^[2]^:215 Earlier lunar cartographers had given the feature different names: Michael van Langren's 1645 map calls it "Caroli I Reg. Britt.", after King Charles I of England,^[2]^:197 and Johannes Hevelius grouped it with Purbach and Regiomontanus as "Mons Libanus" after Mount Lebanon.^[2]^:205

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 Walther.

Walther	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	32.4° S	0.7° E	12 km
B	30.5° S	1.4° W	9 km
C	31.2° S	0.8° W	14 km
D	32.0° S	2.8° E	18 km
E	33.3° S	1.2° W	13 km
F	33.1° S	2.1° E	6 km
G	32.5° S	3.9° W	8 km
J	34.4° S	1.5° W	7 km
K	34.1° S	1.4° W	7 km
L	31.9° S	0.9° W	5 km
M	34.0° S	0.3° W	5 km
N	33.7° S	0.2° W	6 km
O	35.6° S	0.1° W	6 km
P	35.4° S	0.2° E	9 km
Q	33.5° S	0.3° E	4 km
R	35.8° S	0.4° E	8 km
S	36.4° S	0.6° E	12 km
T	33.4° S	1.8° E	8 km
U	33.4° S	2.7° E	4 km
W	32.8° S	2.5° W	36 km
X	32.1° S	1.9° W	10 km

Related Research Articles

Regiomontanus is an ancient lunar impact crater located in the southern highlands region to the southeast of Mare Nubium. It is joined at the chaotic northern rim by the crater Purbach, and to the south-southeast is Walther.

Argelander is a lunar impact crater that is located in the south-central highlands of the Moon. It was named after the German astronomer Friedrich Argelander. It lies in the midpoint between the smaller crater Vogel in the north and the larger Airy to the south. To the northwest is the worn remnant of Parrot. Just to the west is a shallow cleft in the surface that follows a course to the north-northwest, intersecting the southeast rim of Parrot.

Fernelius is a lunar impact crater located in the southern highlands just to the north of the walled plain Stöfler. It was named after 16th century French astronomer Jean Fernel. The crater Kaiser is located next to the northwest rim of Fernelius. To the north-northwest are the craters Nonius and Walther. Southeast of Fernelius is the crater cluster of Miller, Nasireddin, Huggins, and Orontius.

Purbach is a large lunar impact crater located in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. The distorted crater Regiomontanus is attached to the southern rim. To the northwest is Thebit and just to the northeast lies La Caille.

Bianchini is a lunar impact crater that lies along the northern Jura Mountains that ring the Sinus Iridum, in the northwestern part of the near side of the Moon. It was named after Italian astronomer Francesco Bianchini. The impact of this crater near the edge of the Jura Mountains deposited some material into the Sinus Iridum floor.

Barocius is an ancient lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. It was named after Italian mathematician Francesco Barozzi. It lies just to the southeast of the large crater Maurolycus. To the southwest of Barocius is Clairaut, and to the south-southeast lies Breislak.

Artem'ev is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. The rim of this crater has been modified by subsequent impacts in the vicinity, with an inward bulge along the southwest edge and a worn impact lying across the north rim. The satellite crater Artem'ev G is partly overlain by the southeast rim of Artem'ev. The crater interior is relatively flat, and marked only by tiny craterlets.

Avicenna is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the western limb on the northern rim of the Lorentz basin. It is named after the Persian physician Avicenna. It lies to the north-northwest of the larger crater Nernst, and to the southeast of Bragg.

Baco is a lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged southern highlands on the near side of the Moon. The rim and inner wall has been eroded and worn by countless minor impacts since the original formation of the crater. As a result, any terraces have been worn smooth and the rim is overlaid by several tiny craterlets. The interior floor is nearly flat, with no characteristic central peak at the midpoint and no small craters of significance.

Buch is an old, worn crater that is located in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. It was named after German geologist Leopold von Buch. It lies to the northeast of the large crater Maurolycus, and the comparably sized crater Büsching is attached to the northeast rim.

Büsching is a lunar impact crater that is located in the crater-covered southern highlands of the Moon. It was named after German geographer Anton F. Büsching. The similar-sized crater Buch is located adjacent to its southwestern rim, and further to the southwest lies Maurolycus.

Buisson is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It is named after the French physicist Henri Buisson. Nearly attached to the southeast rim is the crater Vesalius. To the southwest is Einthoven. The rim of this crater is somewhat worn, and is lowest in the north. There is a low central ridge across the midpoint.

Celsius is a small lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged terrain in the southern hemisphere on the Moon's near side. It is named after Swedish astronomer, physicist and mathematician Anders Celsius. It lies less than one crater diameter to the south-southwest of the crater Zagut, and due north of Büsching.

Cichus is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southwestern part of the Moon, at the eastern edge of Palus Epidemiarum. Just to the northeast and nearly contacting the rim is the lava-flooded crater remnant Weiss. The crater is named after Italian astronomer Cecco d'Ascoli.

Dove is a small lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged lunar highlands in the southeastern part of the Moon. It lies to the north of the prominent crater Pitiscus.

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.

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.

Dziewulski is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies between the craters Edison to the north and Popov to the south. The outer rim of this crater has been considerably worn by impacts, particularly along the southwest quadrant where the satellite crater Dziewulski Q overlies the rim and the interior floor. The northern rim is also heavily disrupted, and several small crater lie along the southeast rim. The interior floor and surrounding terrain has been resurfaced.

Ehrlich is a small lunar impact crater named after the German scientist Paul Ehrlich. It is located in the northern hemisphere on the Moon's far side. It lies within a rugged region that has been extensively bombarded by impacts of comparable size. Ehrlich lies about midway between the craters Parsons to the south and the heavily worn Guillaume to the north.

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

↑ "Walther (crater)" . Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
1 2 3 Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.

Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
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. S2CID 122125855.
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.
Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.

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[1] "Walther (crater)" . Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.

[whitaker-2] 1 2 3 Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.

[1]

[2]

Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates	33°00′S0°42′E / 33.0°S 0.7°E / -33.0; 0.7 Coordinates: 33°00′S0°42′E / 33.0°S 0.7°E / -33.0; 0.7
Diameter	132 × 140 km
Depth	4.1 km
Colongitude	359° at sunrise
Eponym	Bernhard Walther