Byrd (lunar crater)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Crater characteristics | |
| Coordinates | 85.3° N, 9.8° E |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 94 km |
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 10° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Richard E. Byrd |
Byrd is an irregular lunar crater that is located near the north pole of the Moon. The north rim of Byrd is nearly connected to the Peary crater, a formation that is adjacent to the pole. The smaller Gioja crater is attached to the remains of the southwest rim.
The rim of Byrd crater is worn and eroded, with sections distorted by intruding crater rims along the perimeter. As a result the crater interior is longer in the north-south direction than it is wide. There is a gap in the western rim, and the southern rim is now little more than a low ridge on the surface.
Some time after the original impact the crater interior was covered in lava flows, leaving a nearly flat surface that is marked only by tiny craterlets. There is no central peak at the mid-point of the interior, and no ridges of significance.
[edit] Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Byrd crater.
| Byrd | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | 84.7° N | 26.8° E | 52 km |
| D | 85.4° N | 32.7° E | 24 km |
[edit] 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 on 2007-08-05.
- Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81528-2.
- Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 0-936389-27-3.
- McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). Lunar Nomenclature. Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved on 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: 136.
- Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co.. ISBN 0-304-35469-4.
- Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521335000.
- Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-913135-17-8.
- Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, 6th revision, Dover. ISBN 0-486-20917-2.
- Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62248-4.
- Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 1852331933.
