Coulomb-Sarton Basin

Coulomb-Sarton Basin

Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image, with the approximate extent of the basin highlighted in red
Coordinates 52°00′S 123°00′W / 52.0°S 123.0°W / -52.0; -123.0Coordinates: 52°00′S 123°00′W / 52.0°S 123.0°W / -52.0; -123.0
Diameter 530 km[1]
Eponym Coulomb and Sarton craters

The Coulomb-Sarton Basin is a Pre-Nectarian impact basin on the far side of the moon.[2] It is named after the crater Coulomb northeast of the center of the basin and the smaller crater Sarton just south of the center. The basin is not obvious on the lunar surface. There are only small fragments of inner rings and a rim, and the most indicative topographic feature is a smooth, low plain at the center.

At the center is a mass concentration (mascon), or gravitational high. The mascon was first identified by Doppler tracking of the Lunar Prospector spacecraft.[3]

Other craters within the basin include Weber and Kramers. At the approximate margin of the basin are Dyson, Ellison, Stefan, Wegener, Wood, Landau, and Gullstrand. The large crater Birkhoff is to the northwest.

External links

References

  1. The geologic history of the Moon, 1987, Wilhelms, Don E.; with sections by McCauley, John F.; Trask, Newell J. USGS Professional Paper: 1348. (online)
  2. Impact Basin Database
  3. A. S. Konopliv; A. B. Binder; L. L. Hood; A. B. Kucinskas; W. L. Sjogren; J. G. Williams (1998). "Improved Gravity Field of the Moon from Lunar Prospector". Science. 281 (5382): 1476–1480. doi:10.1126/science.281.5382.1476.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.