Le Verrier (lunar crater)

Le Verrier
Le Verrier seen by Lunar Orbiter 4 in 1967
Coordinates 40°18′N 20°36′W / 40.3°N 20.6°W / 40.3; -20.6Coordinates: 40°18′N 20°36′W / 40.3°N 20.6°W / 40.3; -20.6
Diameter 20 km
Depth 2.1 km
Colongitude 21° at sunrise
Eponym Urbain Le Verrier
View of Helicon (left) and Le Verrier (right). While Helicon's ejecta is buried by the mare lava, Le Verrier's is not. (The mountain on the horizon at left is Promontorium Laplace. Image taken by Apollo 15).

Le Verrier is a small lunar impact crater located in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium and was named after French mathematical astronomer Urbain Le Verrier. About two crater diameters to the west is the slightly larger crater Helicon, and farther to the west-northwest lies the mountain-ringed bay Sinus Iridum.

Le Verrier, sometimes written Leverrier, is a bowl-shaped feature with a nearly circular rim. The inner walls display the appearance of slumping along the upper edges. The inner wall and floor to the southeast appears more irregular than elsewhere.

Chang'e 3 landed north of Le Verrier in December 2013. Also in that location are nearby smaller craters including Guang Hang Gong, Tai Wei, Tai Shi and Zi Wei. The first is named after a Moon palace in Chinese mythology, the other three are one of the three enclosures in Chinese ancient star map. All these names were approved by the IAU on October 5, 2015.

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 Le Verrier.

Le Verrier Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 38.1° N 17.3° W 4 km
B 40.1° N 12.9° W 5 km
D 39.7° N 12.3° W 9 km
E 42.4° N 16.9° W 7 km
S 38.9° N 20.6° W 3 km
T 39.8° N 20.7° W 4 km
U 37.2° N 13.1° W 4 km
V 37.8° N 14.2° W 3 km
W 39.4° N 13.9° W 3 km
X 41.6° N 12.1° W 3 km

See also

  • Wood, Chuck (2006-08-20). "Out the Porthole". Lunar Photo of the Day. Retrieved 2016-09-18. , excellent earth-based image of Sinus Iridum and vicinity, including Helicon and Le Verrier

References

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