Briggs (crater)

Briggs
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates26°30′N 69°06′W / 26.5°N 69.1°W / 26.5; -69.1
Diameter36.75 km (22.84 mi)[1]
Depth1.2 km (0.75 mi)[2]
Colongitude70° at sunrise
FormationLate Imbrian[3]
EponymHenry Briggs
Briggs crater at the terminator, from Apollo 15

Briggs is a lunar impact crater that is located in the western part of the Oceanus Procellarum, to the east of the large walled plain called Struve.[4] It lies to the northeast of the walled plain Eddington, and north-northwest of the crater Seleucus.[5]: 38  The isolated position of this crater on the mare, near the northwestern limb of the Moon, makes it relatively easy for an Earth-bound observer to locate.[4]

This formation dates to the Late Imbrian period on the lunar geologic timescale. The outer rim of Briggs is not quite circular, with outward bulges to the north-northeast and southward. The interior floor is bulging upward, suggesting a subsurface uplift process. There are radial and concentric cracks, indicating a floor-fractured crater. At the midpoint of the crater floor is a central ridge, extending to the north. This spectrum of this ridge matches high-calcium pyroxene, which was brought up from deeper levels by the impact.[3][5]: 38 

The crater is named after the English mathematician Henry Briggs (1561-1630).[1] His name was included in lunar nomenclature by German astronomer Johann H. Schröter in 1791.[6] Its 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 Briggs.[7]

Briggs[5]: 294  Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 27.1° N 73.7° W 23 km
B 28.1° N 70.9° W 25 km
C 25.0° N 66.9° W 6 km

Briggs A has a mare-covered floor with an irregular array of depressions that were created by lava drainage.[8] Briggs B has a faint ray system.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Briggs". 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. 1 2 Keerthana, R.; et al. (February 2026). "Morphological, mineralogical, and chronological mapping of Briggs floor fractured crater using lunar remote sensing datasets". Icarus. 445. id. 116871. Bibcode:2026Icar..44516871K. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116871.
  4. 1 2 Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
  5. 1 2 3 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. pp. 101, 218. 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.
  8. ↑ Schultz, P. H. (March 1974). Floor-Fractured Lunar Craters. Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Vol. 5. p. 681. Bibcode:1974LPI.....5..681S.
  9. ↑ Grier, Jennifer A.; et al. (December 2001). "Optical maturity of ejecta from large rayed lunar craters". Journal of Geophysical Research. 106 (E12): 32847–32862. Bibcode:2001JGR...10632847G. doi:10.1029/1999JE001160.
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