Birt (crater)

Birt
Coordinates22°24′S 8°30′W / 22.4°S 8.5°W / -22.4; -8.5
Diameter15.81 km (9.82 mi)[1]
Depth3.47 km (2.16 mi)[2]
Colongitude9° at sunrise
EponymWilliam R. Birt

Birt is a lunar impact crater located in the eastern half of the Mare Nubium and west of the Rupes Recta. Patrick Moore called this, "a very interesting little crater".[3] Birt is a bowl-shaped formation with a raised rim, slightly intersected along the southeast edge by the much smaller crater Birt A. To the west of Birt, a rille named Rima Birt[4] runs north-northwest in an arc from Birt F to Birt E.[5]: 94 

This crater was named after British selenographer William R. Birt (1804-1881).[1] Its name was incorporated into lunar nomenclature by German astronomer J. F. Julius Schmidt in 1878.[6] The designation was officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1935.[1]

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 Birt.[7]

Birt[5]: 95  Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 22.5° S 8.2° W 7 km
B 22.2° S 10.2° W 5 km
C 23.7° S 8.3° W 2 km
D 21.0° S 9.8° W 3 km
E 20.7° S 9.6° W 5 km
F 22.3° S 9.1° W 3 km
G 23.1° S 8.2° W 2 km
H 23.0° S 9.1° W 2 km
J 23.0° S 9.4° W 2 km
K 22.4° S 9.7° W 2 km
L 21.6° S 9.3° W 3 km

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Birt". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ↑ Pike, R. J. (September 1976). "Crater Dimensions from Apollo Data and Supplemental Sources". The Moon. 15 (3–4): 463–477. Bibcode:1976Moon...15..463P. doi:10.1007/BF00562253.
  3. ↑ Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
  4. ↑ Grego, Peter (2005). The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers' Observing Guides Series. London: Springer-Verlag. p. 178. ISBN 1-85233-748-6.
  5. 1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  6. ↑ Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. p. 224. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  7. ↑ Grego, P. (2015). "Satellite Crater". In Hargitai, H.; Kereszturi, Á. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_328.

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.