Whipl Crater ( Latin Thiessen ) is a small impact crater in the north pole region on the far side of the moon . The name was given in honor of the American astronomer Fred Lawrence Whipple (1906-2004) and approved by the International Astronomical Union on April 17, 2009.
| Whipl | |
|---|---|
| lat Whipple | |
 Shot of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter probe. | |
| Specifications | |
| Diameter | 14.5 km |
| Deepest | 2300 m |
| Title | |
| Eponym | Fred Lawrence Whipple (1906-2004) - American astronomer. |
| Location | |
| Heavenly body | Moon |
Content
Crater Description
The crater overlaps part of the shaft of the marked Piri crater [1] . Selenographic coordinates of the center of the crater , diameter 14.5 km [2] , depth 2.3 km [3]
Whipl Crater is close to a circular shape with a narrow, slightly smoothed shaft and practically did not undergo destruction. Due to its close proximity to the north pole of the moon, the bottom of the crater bowl is never illuminated by the Sun , and therefore the temperature in the crater bowl is very low, making it a cold trap for volatile chemical elements and compounds, in particular water and mercury . Examination of the crater using radar suggests the presence of a layer of relatively pure water ice with a thickness of at least 2 m. Such ice deposits are potential sources of water and rocket fuel in the form of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen .
A large plateau adjoins the northern part of the shaft of the Upele crater, which, in contrast to the crater’s bowl, is illuminated by the Sun for 80% of the lunar day, approaching in this respect the “ peaks of eternal light ”. Due to this, the surface temperature of the plateau is quite high for the Moon, averaging -50 ° C (± 10 ° C). The combination of low temperature conditions in the Whiplash crater bowl and relatively high temperature on an adjacent plateau is unique to the Moon’s north pole region.
Satellite Craters
Are absent.
See also
- List of Craters on the Moon
- Lunar crater
- Morphological catalog of Moon Craters
- Planetary nomenclature
- Selenography
- Mineralogy of the Moon
- Geology of the moon
- Late heavy bombardment
Notes
- ↑ Whipl Crater on the LAC-1 map.
- ↑ Handbook of the International Astronomical Union
- ↑ 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 .