Torricelli (crater)

Last updated
Torricelli
Torricelli crater 4077 h3.jpg
Coordinates 4°36′S28°30′E / 4.6°S 28.5°E / -4.6; 28.5 Coordinates: 4°36′S28°30′E / 4.6°S 28.5°E / -4.6; 28.5
Diameter 23 km
Depth 2.1 km
Colongitude 331° at sunrise
Eponym Evangelista Torricelli
Oblique view of Torricelli from Apollo 16. NASA photo. Torricelli (Apollo 16).jpg
Oblique view of Torricelli from Apollo 16. NASA  photo.

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 craters on Earths moon

Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, almost all of which were formed by impacts.

Impact crater Circular depression on a solid astronomical body formed by a hypervelocity impact of a smaller object

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 impact crater

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.

Contents

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 Torricelli.

TorricelliLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A4.5° S29.8° E11 km
B2.6° S29.1° E7 km
C2.7° S26.0° E11 km
F4.2° S29.4° E7 km
G1.4° S27.0° E4 km
H3.3° S25.3° E7 km
J3.6° S25.1° E5 km
K4.0° S25.2° E6 km
L3.5° S24.3° E4 km
M3.6° S31.2° E14 km
N6.1° S29.2° E4 km
P6.5° S29.9° E4 km
R5.2° S28.1° E87 km
T4.2° S27.5° E3 km

Related Research Articles

Fracastorius (crater) Lunar crater

Fracastorius is the lava-flooded remnant of an ancient lunar impact crater located at the southern edge of Mare Nectaris. To the northwest of this formation lies the crater Beaumont, while to the northeast is Rosse.

Finsch (crater) lunar crater

Finsch is a relatively small lunar impact crater in the mid-part of Mare Serenitatis that has been almost completely covered by the mare, forming a ghost crater in the lava plain. It was named after German zoologist Otto Finsch. It is located to the south-southeast of the crater Sarabhai and northeast of Bessel.

Amontons (crater) lunar crater

Amontons is a tiny lunar impact crater in the western half of the Mare Fecunditatis. It is a circular, cup-shaped formation that has been excavated out of the level surface by the impact, and is the same dark hue as the surrounding mare. When the sun is at a low angle, multiple ghost-craters are visible in the mare surface to the south-southeast and north of it.

Biot (crater) lunar crater

Biot is a small, bowl-shaped lunar impact crater located in the southern reaches of the Mare Fecunditatis. It is named after French astronomer Jean-Baptiste Biot."Biot (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program. It is a circular formation with a sharp-edged rim that has not been significantly worn. The inner walls slope down to a relatively small interior floor. The albedo of the wide inner walls is higher than the surrounding lunar mare, giving it a light hue. To the southeast is the crater Wrottesley.

Asada (crater) lunar crater

Asada is a small lunar impact crater located at the northern edge of Mare Fecunditatis, to the northeast of the crater Taruntius. It is a circular crater formation with inner walls that slope down toward a small central floor at the midpoint. Asada was designated Taruntius A prior to being named by the IAU.

C. Herschel (crater) lunar crater

C. Herschel is a small lunar impact crater that lies on the western part of Mare Imbrium. It is named after British astronomer Caroline Herschel. It is a circular, bowl-shaped formation that has not undergone significant erosion. The interior floor has the same low albedo as the surrounding lunar mare. To the south-southwest is the similar crater Heis. C. Herschel lies on a wrinkle ridge of the lunar mare named the Dorsum Heim.

Curtis (crater) lunar crater

Curtis is a very small lunar impact crater that lies in the western Mare Crisium, to the east of the crater Picard. It is a circular, cup-shaped formation that is otherwise undistinguished. It was named after American astronomer Heber D. Curtis in 1973. In the past it was designated Picard Z.

Fauth (crater) impact crater

Fauth is a small double-crater located at the edge of the rough southern ramparts of the prominent ray crater Copernicus on the Moon. It lies in the Mare Insularum, to the northeast of the crater Reinhold. The crater is named after German selenographer Philipp Johann Heinrich Fauth.

Arago (lunar crater) lunar crater

Arago is a lunar impact crater located in the western part of the Mare Tranquillitatis. It is named after French astronomer François Arago. Its diameter is 26 km. To the southwest lies the crater Manners, and beyond are Dionysius and the Ritter–Sabine crater pair. To the southeast is the large Lamont formation that has been submerged by the mare.

Fedorov (crater) lunar crater

Fedorov is a lunar geologic feature located in the western Mare Imbrium. It was named after Russian rocket scientist A. P. Fyodorov. It lies east-northeast of the crater Diophantus, and southeast of Delisle. About 20 kilometers to the south-southeast is the slightly larger formation of Artsimovich.

Appleton (crater) lunar crater

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.

Boss (crater) lunar impact crater

Boss is a lunar impact crater that is located along the northeast rim of the Moon's near side. Due to its location, the crater is viewed from the side by observers on the Earth, and its visibility is subject to libration effects.

Bohr (crater) lunar crater

Bohr is a lunar impact crater that is located near the western lunar limb, in the area that is affected by librations. It is attached to the southwestern rim of the larger, eroded Vasco da Gama formation, and to the southeast of the crater Einstein. The crater was observed for the first time in 1963 by Arthus and Ewen Whitaker in the book Rectified Lunar Atlas.

Belyaev (crater) lunar crater

Belyaev is a lunar impact crater that is attached to the outer edge of the Mare Moscoviense, on the far side of the Moon. It is a worn formation with a small crater pair overlaying the southern rim, and several smaller craters across the relatively irregular interior.

Blackett (crater) lunar crater

Blackett is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, behind the southwest limb. It lies beyond the southeast outer ring of the immense Mare Orientale basin. The formation of that major feature has left Blackett deeply marked with ridge features trending from the northwest. Much of the crater has been shaped by the ejecta from Mare Orientale, particularly along the western half of the crater.

Brunner (crater) lunar crater

Brunner is a lunar impact crater that is located along the eastern limb of the Moon, to the southeast of the Mare Smythii. At this location the crater is viewed from the edge, and so it is not possible to see much detail from the Earth. The visibility of this formation is also affected by libration. The crater lies to the southwest of the walled plain Hirayama, and to the east of the elongated crater Houtermans.

Darney (crater) Lunar crater

Darney is a small lunar impact crater that is located on the region of the Moon where the Mare Nubium joins the Oceanus Procellarum. It was named after French astronomer Maurice Darney. To the south is the lava-flooded crater Lubiniezky. The southern rim of Darney is attached to a series of low ridges that extend to the southwest.

Feuillée (crater) lunar crater

Feuillée is a small lunar impact crater in the eastern part of the Mare Imbrium. It was named after French natural scientist Louis Feuillée. It lies less than a half crater diameter to the northwest of Beer, and the two formations form a nearly matched pair. To the west is the small but prominent crater Timocharis.

Courtney (crater) lunar crater

Courtney is a tiny lunar impact crater on the Mare Imbrium, a lunar mare in the northwest quadrant of the Moon. It lies about two crater diameters to the northwest of Euler, in an otherwise isolated stretch of the mare. The dark surface in this region is marked by Euler's ray material. The name is an English male name.

Franz (crater) lunar crater

File: Franz is a small lunar impact crater identified during the Apollo mission in August 1971 and located along the eastern edge of the Sinus Amoris, a bay that forms a northern extension to the Mare Tranquillitatis. Its diameter is 25 km. It was named after German astronomer Julius Heinrich Franz. It lies to the southwest of the prominent crater Macrobius. To the north is the smaller Carmichael, and to the northwest is the diminutive Theophrastus.

References

  1. "Torricelli (crater)" . Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
Ewen Whitaker British astronomer

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.

NASA US government agency responsible for civilian space programs, and aeronautical and aerospace research

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.

Agrippa (crater) impact crater

Agrippa is a lunar impact crater that is located at the southeast edge of the Mare Vaporum. It is located to the north of the crater Godin, the irregular Tempel lies just to the east. To the north and northeast, the rille designated Rima Ariadaeus follows a course to the east-southeast, reaching the western edge of Mare Tranquillitatis. It is named after the 1st century Greek astronomer Agrippa. Its diameter is 44 km (27 mi).

Godin (crater) lunar crater

Godin is a lunar impact crater located just to the south of the crater Agrippa, on a rough upland region to the east of Sinus Medii. Its diameter is 34 km. The crater was named after 18th century French astronomer Louis Godin. The ruined crater Tempel lies to the northeast, on the east side of Agrippa. Due south is the flooded remains of Lade.

Eratosthenes (crater) impact crater

Eratosthenes crater is a relatively deep lunar impact crater that lies on the boundary between the Mare Imbrium and Sinus Aestuum mare regions. It forms the western terminus of the Montes Apenninus mountain range. It is named after ancient Greek astronomer Eratosthenes of Cyrene, who estimated the circumference of the Earth, and the distance from the Earth to the Sun.