Parsons (crater)
|
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image, facing west | |
| Coordinates | 37°18′N 171°12′W / 37.3°N 171.2°WCoordinates: 37°18′N 171°12′W / 37.3°N 171.2°W |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 40 km |
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 171° at sunrise |
| Eponym | John W. Parsons |
Parsons is an impact crater on the battered far side of the Moon. It is located to the west-northwest of the crater Krylov, and to the east of Moore. Parsons is roughly circular in shape and the rim has undergone some erosion. There is a smaller, cup-shaped crater laid across the southeastern rim, and small craterlets along the northeastern and western rim edges. The interior is relatively featureless, with a floor that is about half the diameter of the crater.
The International Astronomical Union named this crater in 1972 after the rocket engineer and occultist Jack Parsons, an important participant at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
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 Parsons.
| Parsons | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| D | 38.5° N | 168.6° W | 54 km |
| E | 37.6° N | 167.8° W | 26 km |
| L | 33.6° N | 170.0° W | 31 km |
| M | 33.8° N | 171.7° W | 23 km |
| N | 34.2° N | 173.2° W | 43 km |
| P | 35.2° N | 172.8° W | 28 km |
References
- 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.
- Carter, John (2004). Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons (new ed.). Feral House. ISBN 978-0-922915-97-2.
- 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.
- 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.