Boyle (crater)
 Boyle crater and satellite craters | |
| Coordinates | 53°06′S 178°06′E / 53.1°S 178.1°E |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 57 km |
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 176° at sunrise |
| Formation | Pre-Nectarian[1] |
| Eponym | Robert Boyle |
Boyle is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the rugged far side of the Moon.[2] It is adjacent to the larger crater Hess to the southeast, and lies about midway between the craters Alder to the north-northeast and Abbe to the south-southwest.[3]
On the lunar geologic timescale, this formation dates to the Pre-Nectarian period.[1] The outer rim of Boyle is nearly circular, and displays some slumping around the interior. Most of the rim is sharp-edged and displays little appearance of wear due to subsequent impacts. The southern rim, however, is overlain by a wide, irregular groove in the surface that follows a course from east to west along the rim. There is also an overlapping formation of tiny craterlets overlapping the narrow strip of terrain that joins Boyle to Hess.[4]: 132
The interior of the crater is relatively flat, with a long, low central ridge at the midpoint. The spectra of the central peak fits an olivine-bearing gabbroic norite mineralogy, which originated from a depth of 5.7 to 8.7 km.[5] This rise is aligned in a linear formation from southwest to northeast. There is a tiny craterlet near the eastern rim, but the interior is otherwise undistinguished.
This crater is named after British natural philosopher and chemist Robert Boyle (1627–1691),[6] regarded as the first modern chemist. Its designation was officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1970.[7]
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 Boyle.[8]
| Boyle[4]: 294 | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 50.8° S | 178.3° E | 21 km |
| Z | 51.3° S | 177.7° E | 52 km |
References
[edit]- 1 2 Byrne, Charles J. (2008). The Far Side of the Moon. Springer. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-4899-8806-5.
- ↑ Moore, Patrick (2000). The Data Book of Astronomy. CRC Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-4200-3344-1.
- ↑ "LAC 132" (PDF). Gazeteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- 1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
- ↑ Cahill, J. T. S.; et al. (September 2009). "Compositional variations of the lunar crust: Results from radiative transfer modeling of central peak spectra". Journal of Geophysical Research. 114 (E9) E09001. Bibcode:2009JGRE..114.9001C. doi:10.1029/2008JE003282.
- ↑ Menzel, D. H.; et al. (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.
- ↑ "Boyle". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
- ↑ Grego, P. (2015). "Satellite Crater". In Hargitai, H.; Kereszturi, Á. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_328.
Sources
[edit]- 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.
- Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Boyle (crater) at Wikimedia Commons
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