Jump to content

Humboldt (crater)

Coordinates: 27°12′S 80°54′E / 27.2°S 80.9°E / -27.2; 80.9
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by InternetArchiveBot (talk | contribs) at 22:48, 8 August 2019 (Bluelinking 3 books for verifiability. #IABot (v2.1alpha2)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Humboldt
Apollo 15 image
Coordinates27°12′S 80°54′E / 27.2°S 80.9°E / -27.2; 80.9
Diameter207 km
DepthUnknown
Colongitude254° at sunrise
EponymWilhelm von Humboldt
Oblique view of Humboldt from Apollo 15
Lunar Orbiter 4 image of Humboldt (right) and the smaller Phillips (left)
LRO mosaic

Humboldt is a large lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. Due to foreshortening this formation has an extremely oblong appearance. The actual shape of the crater is an irregular circle, with a significant indentation along the southeastern rim where the prominent crater Barnard intrudes. To the north-northwest of Humboldt is the large crater Hecataeus. Phillips is attached to the western rim. The rim of Humboldt is low, worn, and irregular in outline. The central peak forms a range on the crater floor. The floor surface contains a network of rilles forming a pattern of radial spokes and concentric arcs. There are also some dark patches located near the walls to the northeast, northwest, and southeast. There is a chain of craters leading from the northwest crater rim to a distance almost as long as the crater is wide. This formation is designated Catena Humboldt. Due to its location near the lunar limb, little detail was known about this crater until it was photographed by orbiting spacecraft (mainly Lunar Orbiter 4).

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 Humboldt. Humboldt N is the largest crater within Humboldt itself, located north of the central peak. Humboldt B is located to the south of Humboldt, on the west rim of the crater Barnard.

Humboldt Latitude Longitude Diameter
B 30.9° S 83.7° E 21 km
N 26.0° S 80.5° E 14 km

Apollo 12 Views

References

  • Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • 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. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • 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. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)