Astronomy:Kircher (crater)
 Lunar Orbiter 4 image | |
| Diameter | 72 km |
|---|---|
| Depth | 4.3 km |
| Colongitude | 47° at sunrise |
Kircher is a lunar impact crater that is located in the south-southwestern part of the Moon, near the southern limb. In this position the crater appears foreshortened when viewed from the Earth. It is less than one crater diameter due south of the crater Bettinus, and is nearly attached to Wilson along the south-southeast rim of Kircher.
This crater is distinctive for an interior floor that is level and nearly featureless. It is marked by only a few tiny craterlets, with a single small craterlet near the north-northeast inner wall. The rim and inner wall has been worn and rounded by impacts, although only a few tiny craters lie across the rim. Attached to the outside of the western rim is a crater pair, with the larger of the two designated Kircher D. A small, cup-shaped crater lies on the narrow neck of ground between Kircher and Wilson.
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 Kircher.
| Kircher | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 66.1° S | 42.1° W | 29 km |
| B | 65.0° S | 43.1° W | 12 km |
| C | 66.9° S | 37.5° W | 11 km |
| D | 67.5° S | 49.8° W | 39 km |
| E | 69.1° S | 50.1° W | 20 km |
| F | 66.1° S | 38.9° W | 10 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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