Chaplygin (crater)

Chaplygin
Lunar Orbiter 1 image
Coordinates5°46′S 150°14′E / 5.76°S 150.24°E / -5.76; 150.24
Diameter123 km
DepthUnknown
Colongitude212° at sunrise
EponymSergey Chaplygin
Oblique photo of Chaplygin from Apollo 11, facing south
Oblique photo of a small, young crater Chaplygin B (Chappy) with a bright ray system on the north edge of Chaplygin, from Apollo 11, facing south
Oblique photo of Chaplygin from Apollo 13, facing south
Highly oblique photo of Chaplygin from Apollo 16, facing south

Chaplygin is a large lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the southeast of the huge walled plain Mendeleev, about midway between the craters Schliemann to the northeast and Marconi to the southwest. It is about the same size as Albategnius on the near side.

The rim of this crater is roughly circular; however, the edge is uneven. The inner wall is terraced around much of the circumference, and this structure is somewhat disrupted along the southern side. The rim is only mildly eroded, with few craters around the edge — the exception being Chaplygin K which is intruding into the inner wall along the southeast side. Within the walls is an interior plain that is level and smooth in comparison to the rugged terrain that surrounds the exterior of the crater. There is a central peak near the midpoint, and a few tiny craters lie scattered across the surface.

Chaplygin is one of the largest craters of Nectarian age.[1]

The crater was named after Soviet mathematician and engineer Sergey Chaplygin by the IAU in 1970.[2] The crater was known as Crater 297 prior to naming.[3]

A small, bright crater on the northeastern rim is called Chaplygin B. It is nicknamed Chappy by the LROC team.[4][5]

  1. ^ The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. By Don E. Wilhelms, John F. McCauley, and Newell J. Trask. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington: 1987. Table 9-4.
  2. ^ Chaplygin, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
  3. ^ Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A)
  4. ^ LROC, Chappy, Posted by Mark Robinson on March 01, 2016.
  5. ^ LROC, Chappy Oblique, Posted by Mark Robinson on March 18, 2016.