Darwin (lunar crater)

Darwin
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates19°48′S 69°06′W / 19.8°S 69.1°W / -19.8; -69.1
Diameter122.18 km (75.92 mi)[1]
DepthUnknown
Colongitude70° at sunrise
EponymCharles R. Darwin

Darwin is a complex lunar impact crater of the type categorised as a walled plain.[2] It lies in the southeastern part of the Moon, and is sufficiently close to the limb to appear significantly foreshortened when viewed from the Earth.[3] Attached to its southern rim is the degraded formation Lamarck.[4] Just to the north-northeast is the dark-floored crater Crüger,[5] while the small crater De Vico lies to the east.[6]

This formation is named after British natural scientist Charles Darwin (1809-1882),[1] who is renowned for his contributions to evolutionary biology.[7] His name was included in the lunar nomenclature of German astronomer Johann F. J. Schmidt during the 19th century.[8] Its designation was formally adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1935.[1]

Description

The outer rim of this formation has been significantly disintegrated by the nearby impacts. The southern and northern parts of the rim in particular are all but destroyed. The eastern rim is somewhat worn but intact, and several small craters lie along the southwestern rim. The satellite crater Darwin B, a fairly large formation with a diameter of 56 kilometers, is attached to the outer western rim.[9]: 92 

Parts of the interior floor of Darwin have been resurfaced. The southern floor of Darwin is only roughly level, with irregular surface features and several small craters. There is a dune-like set of hills in the northeast part of the floor, which is "decelerated surface-flow ejecta" from the Orientale basin impact that struck the eastern rim.[10] In the western floor is a large, low, somewhat irregular dome,[6][2][11] one of the few such features not found on a mare. There is also the remnant of a small crater at the southern end of the floor.

A system of rilles cut across the northern part of the floor, crossing the eastern rim and continuing to the southeast. These rilles are designated the Rimae Darwin, and they stretch for a distance of about 280 kilometers with a width of 1–2 km.[12] To the east of Darwin, this system of rilles crosses Rima Sirsalis,[2] a wide rille that follows a line to the northeast.

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 Darwin.

Darwin[9]: 296  Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 21.8° S 73.0° W 24 km
B 19.9° S 72.2° W 56 km
C 20.5° S 71.0° W 16 km
F 21.0° S 71.0° W 18 km
G 21.5° S 70.7° W 17 km
H 21.0° S 68.8° W 30 km

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Darwin". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  2. 1 2 3 Ebdon, Colin (April 2005). "Darwin and the Interpretation of Lunar Features at the Telescope" (PDF). The Lunar Observer. Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers: 6–9. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  3. ↑ Whitaker, E. A.; et al. (1963). Rectified Lunar Atlas: Supplement No. 2 to the Photographic Lunar Atlas. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Retrieved 2026-06-01. See Field 16.
  4. ↑ "LAC 92" (PDF). Gazeter of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  5. ↑ Grego, Peter (2005). The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers' Observing Guides Series. London: Springer-Verlag. p. 189. ISBN 1-85233-748-6.
  6. 1 2 Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
  7. ↑ Lotzof, Kerry. "Charles Darwin: History's most famous biologist". The Natural History Museum, London. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  8. ↑ Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. pp. 116, 224. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  9. 1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  10. ↑ 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. doi:10.3133/pp1348. Figure 7.8.
  11. ↑ Olivarez, J. (March 1963). "A Note on the Darwin Dome as Seen in Small and Large Aperatures". The Strolling Astronomer. 17 (1–2): 34–35. Bibcode:1963StAst..17...34O.
  12. ↑ Chu, Alan; et al. (2012). The Cambridge Photographic Moon Atlas. Cambridge University Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-1-107-01973-7.

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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