Bhabha (crater)

Bhabha
Clementine mosaic
Coordinates55°06′S 164°30′W / 55.1°S 164.5°W / -55.1; -164.5
Diameter70.25 km (43.65 mi)[1]
DepthUnknown
Colongitude167° at sunrise
FormationEarly Imbrian[2]
EponymHomi J. Bhabha
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image of Bose (upper right) and Bhabha (lower left) craters
Highly oblique view from LRO

Bhabha is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern part of the Moon's far side.[3] It is nearly attached to the southeast rim of the larger crater Bose,[4] and the outer rampart of that crater has produced a slight inward bulge along the northwest face of Bhabha. The Bose–Bhabha pair lie in the center region of the South Pole-Aitken basin floor.[2] Other nearby craters of note include Stoney to the east, and Bellinsgauzen to the south.[5]

The rim of Bhabha dates to the Early Imbrian epoch of the lunar geologic timescale.[2] This is a relatively fresh crater with a nicely terraced inner wall. This terracing is most notable along the southeastern half of the crater, and nearly disappears along the north-northwest rim where the inner wall is at its minimum extent. The rim and inner wall have not been significantly eroded, and there are no craterlets of note along the rim.[6]: 133 

The interior floor has a formation of central peaks that forms a semicircle with the concave interior open to the north. These rise to an altitude of around 1 km and span a width of 15 km.[7] The spectra of the orthopyroxene-rich central peak fits a olivine-bearing norite mineralogy, which originated from a depth of 6.4 to 9.9 km.[8] The remainder of the floor is relatively level, with a single small craterlet in the northern part.

Bhabha was named in honor of the physicist Homi Jehangir Bhabha (1909–1966),[9] a nuclear physics pioneer in his home country of India. Its designation was formally adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1970.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Bhabha". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. 1 2 3 Iqbal, J.; et al. (2025). Geologic Mapping of the Bose and Bhabha Region Within the South Pole-Aitken Basin (PDF). 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. LPI Contributions. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  3. ↑ Moore, Patrick (2000). The Data Book of Astronomy. CRC Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-4200-3344-1.
  4. ↑ Byrne, Charles J. (2008). The Far Side of the Moon. Springer. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-4899-8806-5.
  5. ↑ "LAC 133" (PDF). Gazeteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  6. ↑ Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  7. ↑ Borst, A. M.; et al. (August 2012). "Surface mineralogy and stratigraphy of the lunar South Pole-Aitken basin determined from Clementine UV/VIS and NIR data". Planetary and Space Science. 68 (1): 76–85. Bibcode:2012P&SS...68...76B. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2011.07.020.
  8. ↑ Cahill, J. T. S.; et al. (September 2009). "Compositional variations of the lunar crust: Results from radiative transfer modeling of central peak spectra". Journal of Geophysical Research. 114 (E9) E09001. Bibcode:2009JGRE..114.9001C. doi:10.1029/2008JE003282.
  9. ↑ 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.

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.
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