Gilbert (lunar crater)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Crater characteristics
Coordinates	3.2° S, 76.0° E
Diameter	107 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	285° at sunrise
Eponym	Grove K. Gilbert

Gilbert is a large lunar crater that lies near the eastern limb of the Moon. Due to its location this feature appears foreshortened when viewed from the Earth, limiting the amount of detail that can be observed. The crater lies to the northwest of the similar-sized Kästner walled plain, to the west of the Mare Smythii.

Several satellite craters in the vicinity have since been given names by the IAU. Nearly attached to the north-northeastern rim of Gilbert are Weierstrass (Gilbert N) and Van Vleck (Gilbert M) craters, two somewhat similar formations. In the northeastern part of Gilbert's interior floor is the small, bowl-shaped Geissler crater (Gilbert D).

The Gilbert crater is a somewhat degraded walled plain, with an outer rim that has been somewhat reshaped by nearby impacts. The southern rim has almost completely disintegrated, and forms a rolling surface that flows toward the south as an extended depression. The crater pair of Weierstrass and Van Vleck have formed an indented rim along the northeast face, while the northwest rim is overlaid by 'Gilbert S'. The interior floor is relatively level with some low ridges running down the center toward the southern end.

[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 Gilbert crater.

Gilbert	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
J	4.3° S	72.7° E	38 km
K	5.5° S	73.2° E	38 km
P	0.9° S	75.6° E	18 km
S	1.9° S	75.6° E	19 km
V	1.5° S	79.9° E	15 km
W	1.1° S	78.9° E	19 km

The following craters have been renamed by the IAU.

• Gilbert D — See Geissler crater.
• Gilbert M — See Van Vleck crater.
• Gilbert N — See Weierstrass crater.
• Gilbert U — See Avery crater.

[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.