Kopff (crater)

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Crater characteristics
Coordinates	17.4° S, 89.6° W
Diameter	41 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	90° at sunrise
Eponym	August Kopff

Kopff is a lunar crater that lies along the eastern edge of the inner Mare Orientale impact basin, on the western limb of the Moon. In this position the crater is seen from on edge from the Earth, and its visibility is affected by libration. This situation makes it difficult to discern much detail about the crater unless it is viewed from orbit.

At one time this crater was considered to have formed due to volcanic activity, incontrast to most lunar craters which are considered to have been created through impacts. However it is more likely that the crater was formed by an impact against a surface that was still partly molten. This has left the crater with a sharp-edged, circular rim and a flat, dark-hued interior floor. Indeed the albedo of the interior floor matches that of the lunar mare to the west. The southeast part of the floor is fractured with a series of narrow rilles. The floor along the northwest and northeast edges is more rugged, and these sections have escaped the lava that covered the remainder of the floor.

[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 Kopff crater.

Kopff	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
B	16.9° S	86.2° W	8 km
C	18.3° S	86.1° W	14 km
D	19.9° S	89.8° W	13 km
E	16.0° S	89.8° W	12 km

The following craters have been renamed by the IAU.

• Kopff A — See Lallemand 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.