The Gassendi crater ( lat. Gassendi ) is an ancient large impact crater on the visible side of the moon on the northwestern border of the Sea of Humidity . The name was given in honor of the French philosopher , mathematician , astronomer Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655) and approved by the International Astronomical Union in 1970. The formation of the crater belongs to the Nectarian period [1] .
Gassendi | |
---|---|
lat Gassendi | |
Combination of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter probe images | |
Specifications | |
Diameter | 111 km |
Deepest | 1.42 m |
Title | |
Eponym | Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655) - French philosopher, mathematician, astronomer. |
Location | |
Heavenly body | Moon |
Content
Crater Description
The Gassendi crater is one of the most interesting objects to observe on the visible side of the moon. Its closest neighbors are the large crater Letronn in the north-northeast, the small crater Erigon , the craters Agatharchid and Levi in the southeast, the craters Liebig and Mersenn in the southwest. In the north-east of the crater are the furrows of Erigon , in the west-south-west are the furrows of Mersenne . To the south of the crater extends the Sea of Humidity [2] . The selenographic coordinates of the center of the crater are , diameter - 111 km [3] , depth - 1.42 km [4] .
The crater underwent a partial filling with lava during the formation of the Sea of Humidity Basin; only the polygonal crater shaft and central peaks about 1370 m high above the average level of the crater rises above the lava surface. The northern crater shaft is blocked by the satellite crater Gassendi A. The height of the crater shaft is from 200 m in the southern part to 2500 m in the western part, the volume of the crater is about 10,000 km³ [1] . The bottom of the crater is uneven, with a system of furrows ( Gassendi furrows ) and many folds, with the exception of the south-eastern part. The northern part of the crater has a height of about 600 m above the surface of the sea Humidity. In the center of the crater there is a group of central peaks; the height of one of them, Gassendi β (coordinates ), defined in 900-940 m [5] . The composition of the central peaks is gabbro – norito – troctolitic anortosis with a plagioclase content of 85–90% (GNTA1) [5] .
In the crater observed short-term lunar phenomena in the form of glow in the shadow during eclipses, moving phenomena.
During the preparation of the Apollo 17 flight, the Gassendi crater was considered as an alternative landing site for the lunar module, the landing point was chosen south of the western central peak [6] .
Crater Section
The graph below shows a section of the crater in different directions [7] , the scale on the ordinate axis is in feet , the scale in meters is indicated in the upper right part of the illustration.
Short-term lunar phenomena
In the crater Gassendi observed short-term lunar phenomena in the form of glow in the shadow during eclipses, moving phenomena.
Satellite craters
Gassendi [3] | Coordinates | Diameter, km |
---|---|---|
A | 32 | |
B | 25 | |
E | 7 | |
F | eight | |
G | 7 | |
J | 9 | |
K | 6 | |
L | five | |
M | 3 | |
N | four | |
O | ten | |
P | 2 | |
R | four | |
T | ten | |
W | 6 | |
Y | five |
- On some of the old maps, the satellite crater Gassendi A was called Clarkson, after the English amateur astronomer Roland Clarkson, but this name was not approved by the International Astronomical Union. The formation of the Gassendi A crater belongs to the Copernican period .
- The satellite crater Gassendi L is included in the list of craters with the bright ray system of the Association of Moon and Planetary Astronomy (ALPO) [8] .
See also
- List of craters on the moon
- Moon crater
- Morphological catalog of the craters of the moon
- Planetary Nomenclature
- Selenography
- Mineralogy of the Moon
- Geology of the Moon
- Late heavy bombardment
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Lunar Impact Crater Database . Losiak A., Kohout T., O'Sulllivan K., Thaisen K., Weider S. (Lunar and Planetary Institute, Lunar Exploration Intern Program, 2009); updated by Öhman T. in 2011. Archived page .
- ↑ Gastendi Crater on LAC93 map
- ↑ 1 2 Directory of the International Astronomical Union
- ↑ John E. Westfalls Atlas of the Lunar Terminator, Cambridge Univ. Press (2000)
- ↑ 1 2 Description of the crater on The Moon-Wiki website (eng.)
- ↑ A note on the central peaks of the crater on the LRO website (inaccessible link) . The appeal date is April 17, 2019. Archived May 21, 2013.
- Cra Catalog of the Craters with peaks by Gerald S. Hawkins, William H. Zack and Stephen M. Saslow
- ↑ The list of craters with the bright ray system of the Association of Moon and Planetary Astronomy (ALPO) Archived on March 4, 2016.
Links
- Digital photographic atlas of the moon
- Photos of the crater from the board of Apollo 16
- Photos of the crater and its surroundings on the site of Lunar Picture of the Day
- Geological map of the vicinity of the crater
- Gassendi furrow note on LRO site
- Note about the Gassendi Satellite crater on the LRO website
- Snapshots of the crater with a high resolution camera Lunar Orbiter-5
- Andersson, LE, and EA Whitaker, NASA Catalog of Lunar Nomenclature, NASA Reference Publication 1097, October 1982.