Widmannstätten (crater)

Widmannstätten
Apollo 17 mapping camera image, Kiess at center and Widmannstätten in upper right
Coordinates6°05′S 85°26′E / 6.09°S 85.43°E / -6.09; 85.43
Diameter52.88 km
Depth0.74 km[1]
Colongitude275° at sunrise
EponymAlois B. Widmannstätten
Oblique view of Kiess and Widmannstätten from Apollo 12

Widmannstätten is a lunar impact crater in the southern part of the Mare Smythii, near the eastern limb of the Moon. The rim of this crater has a wide gap along the western side, where it is joined to the larger Kiess. There is also a gap in the northern rim where the crater floor is joined to the adjacent lunar mare. The dark interior floor of this formation has been flooded by lava, leaving a level interior surface and a shallow surviving rim.

The craters Kiess and Widmannstätten were referred to as Wright Brothers, such as by the crew of Apollo 17,[2] prior to being officially named by the IAU in 1973.[3]

References

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  1. ^ LTO-81B3 Widmannstatten, Lunar Topographic Orthophotomap (LTO) Series
  2. ^ Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report (NASA Special Publication 330). Scientific and Technical Information Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C. 1973. Figure 28-9.
  3. ^ Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN, Kiess, Widmannstätten
  • Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
  • Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
  • Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  • Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
  • McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  • Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (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.
  • Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
  • 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.
  • Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
  • Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.