Hermite (crater)

Hermite
Topographic map of Hermite (center) by LRO's laser altimeter
Coordinates86°10′N 93°19′W / 86.17°N 93.32°W / 86.17; -93.32
Diameter108.64 km (67.51 mi)[1]
DepthUnknown
Colongitude110° at sunrise
EponymCharles Hermite[1]
Lunar Orbiter 4 image of Hermite and surrounding craters

Hermite is a lunar impact crater located along the northern lunar limb, close to the north pole of the Moon. To the west is the crater Rozhdestvenskiy, and to the south are Lovelace and Sylvester. Grignard is incised into the southwest rim.[2] From the Earth, this crater is viewed nearly from the side at a latitude of 86° N, which means it is illuminated by oblique sunlight.[3]

This crater was named for French mathematician Charles Hermite (1822-1901).[4] His name was introduced into lunar nomenclature by David W. G. Arthur and Ewen Whitaker with the Rectified Lunar Atlas (1963).[5][6] It was officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1964.[1]

Physical features

This crater was formed roughly 3.91 billion years ago,[7] dating it to Nectarian period of the lunar geologic timescale. Hermite is a worn, eroded crater with a rugged outer rim that is notched and incised from past impacts. A crater overlies the southwestern rim, and the two formations have merged to share a common interior floor. A pair of small craters lies along the southern part of the rim, and a small crater is also attached near the northern end. The interior floor has been resurfaced, so that it forms a wide plain that is pock-marked by numerous tiny craterlets and low hills. There is a small crater on the floor near the northeastern wall.[8]: 104 

In 2009, it was discovered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter that Hermite is the coldest place recorded in the Solar System, with temperatures at 26 K (−247 °C; −413 °F).[9] For comparison, Pluto's surface only gets down to about 43 K (−230 °C; −382 °F).[10]

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 Hermite.

Hermite[8]: 301  Coordinates Diameter
A 87°48′N 47°06′W / 87.8°N 47.1°W / 87.8; -47.1 20 km
B 87°08′N 86°12′W / 87.14°N 86.2°W / 87.14; -86.2 8.4 km[11]

Hermite B is an unofficial designation that has not been approved by the IAU.[8]: 301 

Hermite A

There may exist a large amount of water ice within Hermite A's permanently shadowed region (PSR), where no light from the Sun ever reaches; according to a 2016 study published by the IEEE roughly two-thirds of the crater's PSR is covered with varying amounts of ice.[12] However, a 2018 study also published by the IEEE countered this claim, arguing that the method used to detect ice in the earlier study was not refined enough to conclusively identify a material as ice, and that more detailed methods were needed to determine if ice exists within Hermite A.[13] A further analysis of the crater in 2022 using data from the Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiters found that ice may exist in clusters on the walls and some parts of the floor of Hermite A.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Hermite". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ↑ "LAC 1" (PDF). Gazeteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 1 June 2026. – Map of northern lunar pole
  3. ↑ Wood, Chuck (3 January 2007). "A Mystery Crater". Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017. – featuring an earth-based photo of Hermite.
  4. ↑ 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. See p. 183.
  5. ↑ Whitaker, E. A.; et al. (1963). Rectified Lunar Atlas: Supplement No. 2 to the Photographic Lunar Atlas. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Retrieved 1 June 2026. See Field 1.
  6. ↑ Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. p. 234. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  7. ↑ Arya, A.S.; et al. (October 2011). "Surface age and morphology of Hermite crater of lunar North Pole using high resolution datasets". EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2011. 2011. Division for Planetary Sciences & European Planetary Science Congress: 1850. Bibcode:2011epsc.conf.1850A.
  8. 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.
  9. ↑ Amos, Jonathan (16 December 2009). "'Coldest place' found on the Moon". BBC. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  10. ↑ Williams, Ryan (3 January 2006). "Pluto Colder Than Expected". Space.com. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  11. ↑ Fa, Wenzhe; Cai, Yuzhen (11 July 2013). "Circular polarization ratio characteristics of impact craters from Mini-RF observations and implications for ice detection at the polar regions of the Moon". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 118 (8). American Geophysical Union: 1582–1608. Bibcode:2013JGRE..118.1582F. doi:10.1002/jgre.20110. S2CID 130297816. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  12. ↑ Calla, O.P.N.; Mathur, Shubhra; Gadri, Kishan Lal (July 2016). "Quantification of Water Ice in the Hermite-A Crater of the Lunar North Pole". IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters. 13 (7). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers: 926–930. Bibcode:2016IGRSL..13..926C. doi:10.1109/LGRS.2016.2554282. ISSN 1558-0571. S2CID 31374007.
  13. ↑ Liu, Niutao; Fa, Wenzhe; Jin, Ya-Qiu (23 July 2018). "No Water–Ice Invertable in PSR of Hermite-A Crater Based on Mini-RF Data and Two-Layers Model". IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters. 15 (10). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers: 1485–1489. Bibcode:2018IGRSL..15.1485L. doi:10.1109/LGRS.2018.2852139. ISSN 1558-0571. S2CID 52902076.
  14. ↑ Singh, Awinash; et al. (10 May 2022). "Dielectric characterization and polarimetric analysis of lunar north polar crater Hermite-A using Chandrayaan-1 Mini-SAR, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Mini-RF, and Chandrayaan-2 DFSAR data". Advances in Space Research. 70 (12). Elsevier: 4030–4055. Bibcode:2022AdSpR..70.4030S. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2022.04.059. S2CID 248710695. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
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