Kao is a small lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. It lies near the southern edge of the Mare Smythii, a lunar mare that continues onto the far side of the surface. This crater lies to the east-southeast of the crater Widmannstätten. Less than a crater diameter to the north-northeast is the small crater Tucker.
 | |
| Coordinates | 6°43′S 87°49′E / 6.71°S 87.81°E |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 34.54 km |
| Depth | 0.43 km[1] |
| Colongitude | 273° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Ping-Tse Kao |
This crater forms part of a merged pair with Helmert to the south. There is a gap in the sides of the crater where they are joined together, and they share a common floor that has been resurfaced by lava. The outer rim of this crater now forms little more than a shallow ring in the surface, with the rim lowest along the northern side. It is unmarked by impacts of significance. However, there is a small crater along the southeastern edge where the rim joins that of Helmert.
The crater's name was approved by the IAU in 1982.[2] It is named for astronomer Kao Ping-tse.
References
edit- ^ LTO-81B3 Widmannstatten, Lunar Topographic Orthophotomap (LTO) Series
- ^ Kao, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
- 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.