Van Vleck is a lunar impact crater that is located near the northeastern rim of the walled plain Gilbert, to the west of the Mare Smythii. The similar crater Weierstrass is nearly joined to the northwestern rim of Van Vleck. To the east is the small Carrillo.
![]() Apollo 16 Mapping Camera image | |
Coordinates | 1°46′S 78°12′E / 1.77°S 78.20°E |
---|---|
Diameter | 33.48 km |
Depth | 3.1 km[1] |
Colongitude | 282° at sunrise |
Eponym | John M. Van Vleck |
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Lunar_craters_Nobili%2C_Jenkins%2C_Weierstrass%2C_and_Van_Vleck.png/240px-Lunar_craters_Nobili%2C_Jenkins%2C_Weierstrass%2C_and_Van_Vleck.png)
The rim of this crater is nearly circular with no overlying craters of note, although a small crater abuts against the northeastern side and another along the southern inner wall. The inner sides slope down to a slumped ring of unconsolidated material that encircles the interior floor. There is a small peak just to the north of the crater center.
This crater was previously identified as Gilbert M before being assigned a name by the IAU in 1976.[2]
References
edit- ^ LTO-81A2 Gilbert, Lunar Topographic Orthophotomap (LTO) Series
- ^ Van Vleck, 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.
External links
edit- LTO-81A2 Gilbert — L&PI topographic map