Baade (crater)

Baade
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates44°48′S 81°48′W / 44.8°S 81.8°W / -44.8; -81.8
Diameter55 km[1]
DepthUnknown
Colongitude83° at sunrise
FormationLate Imbrian[2]
EponymWalter Baade
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 4 image with slightly different lighting

Baade is a lunar impact crater that is located near the southwest limb of the Moon on the near side, to the southwest of the enormous Mare Orientale impact basin. It lies within the Mendel-Rydberg Basin,[3] a 630 km wide impact basin of Nectarian age. The area to the east of the Baade crater forms the junction between the 288-km-long[4] Vallis Bouvard to the north and the narrower, 207-km-long[5] Vallis Baade to the south-southeast. Both valleys radiate away from the Mare Orientale basin to the north.[6]

This formation dates to the Late Imbrian period of the lunar geologic timescale.[2] The outer wall of Baade remains sharp-edged, with little appearance of erosion due to subsequent impacts. The rim is generally circular, with some terracing of the inner wall. The crater interior is rough and irregular, with a generally bowl-shaped appearance that lacks a sharply defined floor. There is no central peak at the midpoint of the interior, and no craterlets of note mark the surface.[7]: 109 

This crater is named after German-American astronomer Walter Baade (1893–1960).[8] Its designation was officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1964.[1] The name was introduced into lunar nomenclature by David W. G. Arthur and Ewen Whitaker, and first appeared in the Rectified Lunar Atlas (1963).[9][10]

References

  1. 1 2 "Baade". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. 1 2 Byrne, Charles J. (2008). The Far Side of the Moon. Springer. p. 178. ISBN 978-1-4899-8806-5.
  3. ↑ Byrne, Charles (2007). The Far Side of the Moon: A Photographic Guide. Patrick Moore's practical astronomy series, ISSN 1617-7185. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-387-73205-3.
  4. ↑ "Vallis Bouvard". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  5. ↑ "Vallis Baade". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  6. ↑ Byrne, Charles (2010). Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Near Side of the Moon. Physics and Astronomy. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-84628-154-9.
  7. ↑ Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  8. ↑ Menzel, D. H.; et al. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID 122125855. See p. 181.
  9. ↑ Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. pp. 173, 234. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  10. ↑ Whitaker, E. A.; Kuiper, G. P.; Hartmann, W. K. (1963). Rectified lunar atlas. Contributions of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Bibcode:1963rla..book.....W.

Sources

  • 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.
  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.
  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Baade (crater) at Wikimedia Commons
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