O'Day (crater)

O'Day
Coordinates30°36′S 157°30′E / 30.6°S 157.5°E / -30.6; 157.5
Diameter71 km
DepthUnknown
Colongitude203° at sunrise
FormationCopernican[1]
EponymMarcus O'Day
Oblique view from Apollo 17
Map of O'Day crater

O'Day is a prominent lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon.[2] It intrudes into the northwestern edge of Mare Ingenii, and the rim is lower on that side. To the northwest is the crater pair of Holetschek and Sierpinski. Southwest of O'Day lies the crater Seidel. It is named in honour of the American physicist Marcus O'Day.

Due to its prominent rays, O'Day is mapped as part of the Copernican System.[1] The crater rim of O'Day remains sharp-edged, and the inner wall is terraced, especially in the northwestern half away from the mare. A small crater lies across the southern rim, and a tiny craterlet is located in the low inner rim between the crater and the mare. The floor is rough and irregular, with a double-peak at the midpoint. Anorthosite with a very low mafic abundance has been detected in this rise.[3] The infrared spectrum of pure crystalline plagioclase has been identified on this central peak.[4]

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 O'Day.

O'Day Latitude Longitude Diameter
B 29.1° S 158.0° E 16 km
M 31.7° S 157.1° E 16 km
T 30.4° S 154.4° E 24 km

References

  1. 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. doi:10.3133/pp1348. Plate 11: Copernican System.
  2. ↑ Moore, Patrick (2000). The Data Book of Astronomy. CRC Press. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-4200-3344-1.
  3. ↑ Lemelin, Myriam; et al. (May 2015). "Lunar central peak mineralogy and iron content using the Kaguya Multiband Imager: Reassessment of the compositional structure of the lunar crust". JRG Planets. 120 (5): 869–887. doi:10.1002/2014JE004778.
  4. ↑ 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.

Sources