Astronomy:Dawson (crater)
 Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image facing west, with Dawson (center), Dawson V (above right of center), and Dawson D (below right of center) | |
| Diameter | 45 km |
|---|---|
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 137° at sunrise |
Dawson is a lunar impact crater that lies on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies across a crater triplet: the southeast rim is intruding into the crater Alekhin; the northwest rim also intrudes into the larger satellite crater Dawson V, and the northeast rim is attached to the comparably sized Dawson D. To the south of this formation is the large crater Zeeman. West of Dawson is the crater Crommelin, and to the north lies Fizeau.
Dawson is a relatively young formation that lies in the midst of a field of ancient, heavily eroded craters. The outer rim is nearly circular, but slightly distorted due to the craters it overlaps. The western rim is slightly flattened where it overlaps Dawson V. The crater formation shows little appearance of wear, with only a small craterlet across the northwest rim and another inside the northeast rim. The interior is irregular with some slight terraces along parts of the inner wall.
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Dawson.
| Dawson | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| D | 66.6° S | 131.7° W | 39 km |
| V | 66.6° S | 137.0° W | 58 km |
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. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/.
- Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
- Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1. https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780936389271.
- McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. http://host.planet4589.org/astro/lunar/.
- 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 (2): 136–186. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. Bibcode: 1971SSRv...12..136M.
- Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co.. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6. https://archive.org/details/patrickmooreonmo00patr.
- Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
- Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
- Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3. https://archive.org/details/celestialobjects00webb.
- Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
- Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.
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