Schrödinger (crater)
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| Crater characteristics | |
 Crater view from Clementine spacecraft. Note the incomplete inner ring. NASA photo. |
|
| Coordinates | 75.0° S, 132.4° E |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 312 km |
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 245° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Erwin Schrödinger |
Schrödinger is a huge lunar impact crater of the form normally called a walled-plain. It is located near the south lunar pole on the far side of the Moon, and can only be viewed from orbit. The smaller Ganswindt crater is attached to the southwest rim of Schrödinger, and intrudes slightly into the inner wall. Further to the southwest is the Amundsen crater.
Schrödinger possesses a wide outer rim that has been slightly rounded due to subsequent impacts. But the rim remains well-defined, and traces of terraces can be seen along the inner surface. The ejecta on the exterior forms an irregular outer rampart that extends for up to 100 kilometers.
Within the interior is a second ring approximately half the diameter of the outer rim. This forms a circular range of rugged mountains that surround the center, with the exception of a wide gap in the south. The remainder of the floor has been resurfaced by subsequent lava flows, producing a relatively flat surface particularly within the inner ring. The exception is an area of rough ground in the southeast part of the interior.
A complex of rilles has formed across the floor, forming multiple clefts particularly in the south. The floor has also been marked by subsequent impacts, leaving tiny craterlets scattered across the surface. There is no central peak at the mid-point of the interior.
There is a long, narrow valley leading directly away from the Schrödinger basin to the northwest, designated Vallis Schrödinger. This formation begins some distance from the outer rim of the crater, at the edge of the ejecta that surrounds the perimeter. It extends to the rim of the Moulton crater. Another similar valley designated Vallis Planck radiates to the north, beginning near the Grotrian crater at the periphery of the Schrödinger ejecta, and extending past the Fechner crater.
[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 Schrödinger crater.
| Schrödinger | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| B | 68.4° S | 141.3° E | 25 km |
| G | 75.4° S | 137.2° E | 8 km |
| J | 78.4° S | 154.6° E | 16 km |
| W | 68.5° S | 115.6° E | 12 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.
