Crookes (crater)

Crookes
Lunar Orbiter 1 image
Coordinates10°18′S 164°30′W / 10.3°S 164.5°W / -10.3; -164.5
Diameter48.25 km (29.98 mi)[1]
DepthUnknown
Colongitude166° at sunrise
FormationCopernican[2][3]
EponymWilliam Crookes
Oblique view facing south from Apollo 11. Crookes is right of center, and Crookes D is left of center. Note the prominent chain of secondary craters in the central foreground. Mohorovičić is in the background.
Apollo 8 image of the interior

Crookes is a lunar impact crater that lies in the highland region[3] on the Moon's far side as seen from the Earth.[4] It lies just to the southwest of the enormous impact basin Korolev. To the southwest of Crookes is McKellar.[5]

The rim of Crookes crater has a relatively high albedo compared to most such formations on the Moon, and it lies at the center of a ray system. This ejecta forms a nearly continuous blanket out to at least one crater diameter before forming extended rays and a multitude of wispy markings across the surface.[6]: 87  The ray system continues for several hundred kilometers, including extending across a substantial portion of the Korolev basin.[5] Due to these prominent rays, Crookes is mapped as part of the Copernican System.[2][3] The infrared spectrum of pure crystalline plagioclase has been identified on the western ejecta.[7]

The impactor that created this crater likely arrived from the north-northeast at an angle of 15° to 45°.[3] As would be expected for a relatively young crater, Crookes has a sharp-edged rim that has not been significantly eroded. The inner walls are relatively wide, and have slumped inward along the edges to form a terrace system. Offset slightly to the east of the midpoint of the crater is a small central peak on the interior floor.[3][6]: 87  The spectra of the central peak fits an anorthositic gabbro mineralogy, which was excavated from a depth of 4.9 to 7.4 km.[8]

This crater is named after William Crookes (1832–1919), an English chemist and physicist.[9] Its designation was officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1970.[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 Crookes.[10]

Crookes[6]: 296  Latitude Longitude Diameter
D 9.6° S 162.8° W 41 km
P 11.7° S 165.8° W 21 km
X 6.6° S 166.2° W 24 km

References

  1. 1 2 "Crookes". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  2. 1 2 Wilhelms, Don E.; McCauley, John F.; Trask, Newell J. (1987). The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. Plate 11: Copernican System.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Thaker, Ashka D.; et al. (May 2020). "Morphological analysis and mapping of complex craters of Copernican age: Crookes, Ohm and Stevinus". Planetary and Space Science. 184. id. 104856. Bibcode:2020P&SS..18404856T. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2020.104856.
  4. ↑ Moore, Patrick (2000). The Data Book of Astronomy. CRC Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-4200-3344-1.
  5. 1 2 Byrne, Charles J. (2008). The Far Side of the Moon. Springer. pp. 53–55. ISBN 978-1-4899-8806-5.
  6. 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.
  7. ↑ Donaldson Hanna, K. L.; et al. (July 2014). "Global assessment of pure crystalline plagioclase across the Moon and implications for the evolution of the primary crust". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 119 (7): 1516–1545. Bibcode:2014JGRE..119.1516D. doi:10.1002/2013JE004476.
  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.
  10. ↑ 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.
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