Oppenheimer (crater)

Oppenheimer (crater)

Coordinates	35°12′S 166°18′W / 35.2°S 166.3°W / -35.2; -166.3Coordinates: 35°12′S 166°18′W / 35.2°S 166.3°W / -35.2; -166.3
Diameter	208 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	170° at sunrise
Eponym	J. Robert Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer is a large lunar crater that lies on the Far side of the Moon. It lies along the western outer ampart of the immense walled plain Apollo. Nearby features of note include the dark-floored crater Maksutov to the southwest, and Davisson to the west-southwest. The latter intrudes into the eastern rim of Leibnitz, a feature about 20% larger than Oppenheimer.

The outer rim of Oppenheimer is very nearly circular, but is broken in several locations by small craters. The most prominent of these is Oppenheimer H, lying against the inner wall and rim. In general the inner wall is unusually narrow along the western rim, but is much wider in the eastern half near where the rim approaches the Apollo basin. The interior floor is relatively level, particularly near the center. This floor has a lower albedo in several patches near the western rim. One of these patches contains the flooded crater Oppenheimer U. Near the northern and southern inner walls is a system of linear rilles in the surface. The far eastern half of the crater is marked by a ray system running north–south.

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
F	34.7° S	161.5° W	35 km
H	36.5° S	163.1° W	33 km
R	37.3° S	170.4° W	26 km
U	34.3° S	167.9° W	38 km
V	32.0° S	172.7° W	32 km
W	32.1° S	169.0° W	20 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. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/. Retrieved 2007-08-05. 
• Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81528-2. 
• Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 0-936389-27-3. 
• McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. http://host.planet4589.org/astro/lunar/. 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.  edit
• Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 0-304-35469-4. 
• Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-33500-0. 
• Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-913135-17-8. 
• Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revision ed.). Dover. ISBN 0-486-20917-2. 
• Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62248-4. 
• Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 1-85233-193-3.