Coordinates | 36°06′S151°48′W / 36.1°S 151.8°W |
---|---|
Diameter | 537 km [1] |
Colongitude | 161° at sunrise |
Eponym | Project Apollo |
Apollo, also called the Apollo basin, is an enormous impact crater located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. This formation dwarfs the large crater Oppenheimer that is located next to the western rim. The crater Barringer lies across the northern wall. To the southeast is the crater Anders, and Kleymenov is just to the east of the rim.
Apollo is a double-ringed walled plain (or basin) whose inner ring is roughly half the diameter of the outer wall. Both the outer wall and the interior have been heavily worn and eroded by subsequent impacts, so that significant parts of the outer and inner walls now consist of irregular and incised sections of mountainous arcs.
The interior floor is covered in a multitude of craters of various sizes, some of which have been named for people associated with the Apollo program or other NASA projects.
Sections of Apollo's interior have been resurfaced with lava, leaving patches of the floor with a lower albedo than the surroundings. There is a large patch of this lunar mare in the middle part of the inner ring, which contains some ray system markings. A long stretch of the mare lies along the southern part of the crater. There is also a smaller section near the western rim.
Prior to formal naming in 1970 by the IAU, [2] the crater was known as Basin XVI. [3]
Three craters are named after the crew of Apollo 8. In the southeast part of Apollo is Borman crater, named after commander Frank Borman. Near the southeastern margin of Apollo is Anders crater, named after William Anders. On the eastern margin is Lovell crater, named after Jim Lovell.
Many craters within and adjacent to the Apollo impact have been named to honor deceased NASA employees.
Dryden is attached to the west-northwestern exterior of the inner ring. Chaffee is a similar-sized crater that lies partly across the southwest section of the inner ring. Inside the inner ring are the craters Resnik, McAuliffe and Onizuka, and the Jarvis–McNair crater pair. The crater Smith lies across the northern part of the inner ring.
In 2006 the IAU approved a proposal to name seven interior craters to honor the astronauts killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. [4] [5]
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter | Name source |
---|---|---|---|
Chawla | 42°48′S147°30′W / 42.8°S 147.5°W | 15 km | Kalpana Chawla |
D. Brown | 42°00′S147°12′W / 42.0°S 147.2°W | 15 km | David McD. Brown |
Husband | 40°48′S147°54′W / 40.8°S 147.9°W | 29 km | Richard D. Husband |
L. Clark | 43°42′S147°42′W / 43.7°S 147.7°W | 16 km | Laurel B. S. Clark |
McCool | 41°42′S146°18′W / 41.7°S 146.3°W | 21 km | William C. McCool |
M. Anderson | 41°36′S149°00′W / 41.6°S 149.0°W | 17 km | Michael P. Anderson |
Ramon | 41°36′S148°06′W / 41.6°S 148.1°W | 17 km | Ilan Ramon |
Three of the crater names include the respective astronaut's first initials to distinguish them from the existing craters called Anderson, Brown and Clark.
Anders is a worn lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies just to the southeast of the outer rim of the huge walled basin named Apollo. To the south-southeast is the crater Leavitt.
Korolev is a large lunar impact crater of the walled plain or basin type. It is a basin of Nectarian age.
Borman is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies across the southeast section of the mountainous inner ring, within the walled basin named Apollo.
Bowditch is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the eastern limb. It is located on a region of the lunar surface that is brought into view due to libration, but at such times the area is viewed from the edge and so not much detail can be observed. It lies just to the north of the small Lacus Solitudinis lunar mare, between the craters Titius to the southwest and Perel'man to the east-northeast.
Fabry is a large lunar impact crater of the form termed a walled plain. It is located on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the northeastern limb. Parts of this area are sometimes brought into view by the effects of libration, but the terrain is seen from the edge and so not much in the way of detail can be observed.
Hecataeus is a large lunar impact crater that lies near the eastern limb of the Moon. It is attached to the northern rim of the walled plain Humboldt. To the northeast is the smaller crater Gibbs. East of Hecataeus is a chain of small craters forming a line radial to Humboldt; these are designated the Catena Humboldt, named after the walled plain.
Chaffee is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies within the huge walled plain Apollo, and is one of several craters in that formation named for astronauts and people associated with the Apollo program. This basin is a double-ringed formation, and the crater Chaffee is situated across the southwest part of the inner ring. The ridge from this ring extends northward from the northern rim of Chaffee.
Dryden is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies within the huge walled plain called Apollo, and is one of several features within that basin named after people associated with the Apollo program. Apollo itself has an inner ring, and Dryden is attached to the west-northwest part of that circular mountain formation. To the south of Dryden along the same range is the crater Chaffee.
Oppenheimer is a large lunar impact crater that lies on the Far side of the Moon. It lies along the western outer rampart of the immense walled plain Apollo. Nearby features of note include the dark-floored crater Maksutov to the southwest, and Davisson to the west-southwest. The latter intrudes into the eastern rim of Leibnitz, a feature about 20% larger than Oppenheimer.
Jarvis is a crater that lies on the far side of the Moon. It is located within the walled plain Apollo, and lies in the eastern half of this basin within the interior ring.
Chappe is a lunar impact crater that lies along the southwestern limb of the Moon. It is nearly attached to the northern limb of the walled plain Hausen, and an equal distance from the crater Pilâtre. To the north-northwest is Blanchard.
Chalonge is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the larger crater Lewis, in the outer skirt of ejecta that surrounds the Mare Orientale impact basin. To the southeast are the Montes Cordillera, a ring of mountains that encircle the Mare Orientale formation.
Lovell is a small lunar impact crater that lies across the eastern edge of the walled plain Apollo, on the far side of the Moon. It has a somewhat irregular shape, with outward bulges to the north and west. The rim is sharp-edged, with some slight wear along the northwestern bend. The featureless inner walls slope directly down to the uneven interior floor.
Frost is a lunar impact crater that is attached to the southern rim of the walled plain Landau, and lies on the far side of the Moon. Just to the east is Petropavlovskiy, and to the northeast along the edge of Landau is Razumov. The crater Douglass is located less than a crater diameter to the west-southwest.
Mandelʹshtam is the remains of a large crater on the Moon's far side named after Leonid Mandelstam. Nearly attached to the northeast outer rim is the crater Papaleksi. To the south lies the crater Vening Meinesz.
Resnik is a small lunar impact crater that is located within the interior of the huge walled plain Apollo, on the Moon's far side. Apollo is a double-ringed formation with a central floor that has been flooded with basaltic lava. Resnik is located at the northern edge of the dark area of the surface. It lies to the southwest of the smaller crater McAuliffe.
Onizuka is a small lunar impact crater that lies within the inner ring of the walled plain Apollo. The central portion of Apollo has been covered by dark basaltic lava, and Onizuka lies at the southern edge of this plain. To the southeast of Onizuka is the crater Borman, and to the west-southwest is Chaffee.
McAuliffe is a small lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side. It lies within the inner ring of the double-ringed walled plain Apollo, about one crater diameter to the northeast of the crater Resnik. To the southeast of it lies the crater pair of Jarvis and McNair.
McNair is a small lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies within the double-ringed Apollo basin, inside the eastern part of the interior ring. It has partly merged with the crater Jarvis, and the two share a common rim. To the south of McNair lies Borman.
Smith is a lunar impact crater that is located within the huge walled plain Apollo, on the far side of the Moon. This crater is attached to the west-southwestern outer rim of Scobee and it overlies the northern edge of the inner mountain ring within Apollo. To the north lies Barringer.