Harriot (crater)

Harriot
LRO image
Coordinates33°06′N 114°18′E / 33.1°N 114.3°E / 33.1; 114.3
Diameter56 km
DepthUnknown
Colongitude246° at sunrise
EponymThomas Harriot
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image, facing west
Oblique Apollo 16 image

Harriot is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon from the Earth. It lies just to the north of the much larger crater Seyfert. To the northeast of Harriot is the crater Cantor. About one and a half crater diameters to the north of Harriot is the eastern end of a crater chain named Catena Sumner. This feature continues to the west-northwest for a distance of 247 km, passing to the north of the crater Sumner.

This is a double-crater formation, with a younger, smaller impact crater, Harriot B, lying along the northeastern inner edge of an older and more eroded outer rim. The inner crater occupies nearly three quarters of the crater diameter. This interior feature has a well-defined rim edge, somewhat slumping inner walls, and a small central peak. The outer rim of Harriot is worn and eroded with edges that have become softened and rounded after a history of impacts nearby.

The crater name was approved by the IAU in 1970.[1]

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 Harriot. Harriot B lies within Harriot itself. Harriot W and X lie to the northwest of Harriot, and Harriot A, a highly eroded crater adjacent to Catena Sumner, lies to the north.

Harriot Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 35.6° N 114.9° E 63 km
B 33.4° N 114.5° E 37 km
W 35.0° N 111.7° E 39 km
X 35.0° N 113.0° E 24 km

References

  1. ^ Harriot, 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.