Klute (crater)

Klute
LRO image
Coordinates37°12′N 141°18′W / 37.2°N 141.3°W / 37.2; -141.3
Diameter75 km
DepthUnknown
Colongitude142° at sunrise
EponymDaniel O. Klute
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image, facing west.

Klute is a crater on the Moon's far side.[1] It lies to the southeast of the larger walled plain named Fowler, and east of the crater Gadomski.

Klute is a heavily worn crater with multiple smaller craters along the outer rim. The infrared spectrum of pure crystalline plagioclase has been identified on the southwest wall.[2] The satellite crater Klute W impacted to the northwest of Klute, and a large slump or landslide has occurred where material has flowed into the unnamed crater within Klute.[3] The remainder of the floor is an uneven plain marked with several small, eroded craters.

This crater was named after Daniel Klute in 1970,[4] a scientist who helped develop engines for the Saturn V rocket before he died in 1964.

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 Klute.[5]

Klute Latitude Longitude Diameter
M 35.1° N 141.1° W 24 km
W 38.2° N 143.0° W 13 km
X 39.5° N 143.0° W 40 km

References

  1. ↑ Moore, Patrick (2000). The Data Book of Astronomy. CRC Press. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-4200-3344-1.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ Mass Wasting: Klute Crater, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera
  4. ↑ Klute, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
  5. ↑ 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