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Darwin (lunar crater)

Coordinates: 19°48′S 69°06′W / 19.8°S 69.1°W / -19.8; -69.1
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For the suspected impact crater on Earth or the crater on Mars, see Darwin Crater and Darwin (Martian crater).
Darwin
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates19°48′S 69°06′W / 19.8°S 69.1°W / -19.8; -69.1
Diameter120 km
DepthUnknown
Colongitude70° at sunrise
EponymCharles R. Darwin

Darwin is a lunar impact crater of the type categorised as a walled plain. It lies in the southeastern part of the Moon, and is sufficiently close to the limb to appear significantly foreshortened when viewed from the Earth. Attached to its southern rim is Lamarck. To the northeast is the dark-floored crater Crüger.

The outer rim of this formation has been significantly disintegrated by the nearby impacts. The southern and northern parts of the rim in particular are all but destroyed. The eastern rim is somewhat worn but intact, and several small craters lie along the southwestern rim. The satellite crater Darwin B, a fairly large formation with a diameter of 56 kilometers, is attached to the outer western rim.

Parts of the interior floor of Darwin have been resurfaced. The southern floor of Darwin is only roughly level, with irregular surface features and several small craters. There is a dune-like set of hills in the northeast part of the floor, which is "decelerated surface-flow ejecta" from the Orientale basin impact that struck the eastern rim.[1] In the western floor is a large, low, somewhat irregular dome, one of the few such features not found on a mare. There is also the remnant of a small crater at the southern end of the floor.

A system of rilles cut across the northern part of the floor, crossing the eastern rim and continuing to the southeast. These rilles are designated the Rimae Darwin, and they stretch for a distance of about 280 kilometers. To the east of Darwin, this system of rilles crosses Rima Sirsalis, a wide rille that follows a line to the northeast.

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 Darwin.

Darwin Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 21.8° S 73.0° W 24 km
B 19.9° S 72.2° W 56 km
C 20.5° S 71.0° W 16 km
F 21.0° S 71.0° W 18 km
G 21.5° S 70.7° W 17 km
H 21.0° S 68.8° W 30 km

References

  1. ^ The geologic history of the Moon, 1987, Wilhelms, Don E.; with sections by McCauley, John F.; Trask, Newell J. USGS Professional Paper: 1348. (online), Figure 7.8
  • 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)
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