Opelt (crater)

Opelt is the lava-flooded remnant of a lunar impact crater on the Mare Nubium. It lies to the north of a similar formation named Gould and to the northeast of the prominent Bullialdus.

Opelt

Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates	16.3°S 17.5°W / -16.3; -17.5
Diameter	48 km
Colongitude	17° at sunrise
Eponym	Friedrich W. Opelt and Otto Moritz Opelt

Oblique view of Opelt from Apollo 16, facing south

The crater was named after the German astronomers Friedrich Wilhelm Opelt and his son Otto Moritz Opelt.

Only a slightly raised outline remains of Opelt's rim, the interior having been inundated with lava. The rim has a wide break at the northern end and several smaller breaks to the south and southeast. The satellite crater Opelt E lies at the southern end of the surviving western rim. The interior floor is nearly level, with the exception of a slight rise to the southwest, which is continuous with a wrinkle ridge to the south.

To the north of Opelt on the lunar mare is a sinuous system of rilles designated Rimae Opelt. These occupy a diameter of about 70 kilometers.

Oblique view also from Apollo 16

Rimae Opelt (linear features near center), due north of Opelt

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 Opelt.

Opelt	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
E	17.0° S	17.8° W	8 km
F	18.1° S	18.7° W	4 km
G	16.8° S	17.2° W	4 km
H	15.8° S	17.3° W	3 km
K	13.6° S	17.1° W	5 km

References

• Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
• 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.

External links

• Opelt at The Moon Wiki
• Media related to Opelt (crater) at Wikimedia Commons