Clark (lunar crater)

Coordinates: 38°24′S 118°54′E / 38.4°S 118.9°E / -38.4; 118.9
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Clark
LRO WAC image
Coordinates38°24′S 118°54′E / 38.4°S 118.9°E / -38.4; 118.9
Diameter49 km
DepthUnknown
Colongitude242° at sunrise
EponymAlvan Clark
Alvan Graham Clark
Clementine mosaic
Oblique view from Lunar Orbiter 3, facing south
Oblique view from Apollo 17, facing east

Clark is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere of the Moon's far side. It is located midway between the larger walled plain Van der Waals to the south and the similar-sized crater Pizzetti to the north. It is named for American astronomer and telescope maker Alvan Clark and his son Alvan Graham Clark.

Clark has a narrow inner wall, and thus a wide interior floor. The rim is roughly circular, but eroded in places. A small crater lies across the southern rim, and a tiny pair are located along the northeastern crest. There is a slight outward bulge along the wall along the west-southwestern side. The crater floor is marked by a number of tiny craterlets but otherwise relatively featureless, having no central peak.

Satellite craters[edit]

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Clark.

Clark Latitude Longitude Diameter
F 38.4° S 122.5° E 27 km

References[edit]

  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.