Debye (crater)
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| Crater characteristics | |
| Coordinates | 49.6° N, 176.2° W |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 142 km |
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 179° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Peter Debye |
Debye is a lunar crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the Moon's far side, as seen from the Earth. It lies to the south of the Chappell crater, and to the southwest of the Rowland walled plain.
The outer rim of this crater has been heavily battered by impacts, and is somewhat distorted from the form of a circle. The northeast rim in particular has become straightened by impact modification, and the crater rim as a whole has a roughly polygonal shape. The southern rim is overlaid by the smaller Perkin crater. The most heavily eroded section of the rim is along the northeast, where a cluster of overlapping craters intrudes into the side. The western rim is notched and indented by several small impacts.
The crater interior is nearly as battered as the outer rim. The outer rampart of Perkin crater intrudes part way across the southern floor. Parts of remaining interior have been bombarded and churned by impacts, leaving an irregular surface that is nearly as rough as the terrain that surrounds the crater. The most recent of these impacts is a small, cup-shaped crater just to the southwest of the mid-point.
[edit] 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 Debye crater.
| Debye | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| E | 50.4° N | 171.0° W | 41 km |
| J | 48.4° N | 172.6° W | 30 km |
| Q | 47.5° N | 178.4° W | 26 km |
[edit] References
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- Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS. Retrieved on 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. Retrieved on 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: 136.
- 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 0521335000.
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- 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 1852331933.
