Humboldt (crater)
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| Crater characteristics | |
 Humboldt (lower right) and Hecataeus (center) from Apollo 15. NASA photo. |
|
| Coordinates | 27.2° N, 80.9° E |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 207 km |
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 254° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Wilhelm von Humboldt |
Humboldt is a large lunar crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. Due to foreshortening this formation has an extremely oblong appearance. The actual shape of the crater is an irregular circle, with a significant indentation along the southeastern rim where the prominent Barnard crater intrudes. To the north-northwest of Humboldt is the large Hecataeus crater. Phillips crater is attached to the western rim.
The rim of the Humboldt crater is low, worn, and irregular in outline. The central peak forms a range on the crater floor. The floor surface contains a network of clefts forming a pattern of radial spokes and concentric arcs. There are also some dark patches located near the walls to the northeast, northwest, and southeast. There is a chain of craters leading from the northwest crater rim to a distance almost as long as the crater is wide. This formation has the designation Catena Humboldt.
Due to its location near the limb, little detail was known about this crater until it was photographed by orbiting spacecraft.
[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 Humboldt crater.
| Humboldt | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| B | 30.9° S | 83.7° E | 21 km |
| N | 26.0° S | 80.5° E | 14 km |
[edit] References
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- Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
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- 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.
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