Oppolzer (crater)
Oppolzer is the remnant of a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern edge of Sinus Medii, along the meridian of the Moon. Its diameter is 41 km. It was named after the Austrian astronomer Theodor von Oppolzer.[1] It is located within one crater diameter of the origin of the selenographic coordinate system at 0° N, 0° W. Attached to the surviving remnants of the southeast rim is the crater Réaumur. To the west-southwest is the lava-flooded walled plain Flammarion.
 Lunar Orbiter 4 image | |
| Coordinates | 1.5°S 0.5°W |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 41 km |
| Colongitude | 1° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Theodor von Oppolzer |
This formation consists of little more than an irregular arc of mounts along the south, and a ring of scattered ridges along the northern rim. There is a particularly wide gap in the rim to the northeast where no ridges survive to mark the crater perimeter. The interior floor has been resurfaced by basaltic lava.
A 110-km-long rille designated Rima Oppolzer passes through the southern part of the crater floor, and continues to the east and west of the crater.
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 Oppolzer.
| Oppolzer | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 0.5° S | 0.3° W | 3 km |
| K | 1.7° S | 0.3° W | 3 km |
References
- "Oppolzer (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
- Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
- 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.
