Byrd (lunar crater)

This article is about the crater on the Moon. For the Martian crater, see Byrd (Martian crater).

Byrd is an irregular lunar impact crater that is located near the north pole of the Moon. The north rim of Byrd is nearly connected to the crater Peary, a formation that is adjacent to the pole. The smaller crater Gioja is attached to the remains of the southwest rim.

Byrd

Topographic map of Brd (centre), from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's laser altimetry data]]
Coordinates	85°26′N 10°04′E / 85.43°N 10.07°E / 85.43; 10.07
Diameter	94 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	10° at sunrise
Eponym	Richard E. Byrd

Lunar Orbiter 4 image

The rim of Byrd is worn and eroded, with sections distorted by intruding crater rims along the perimeter. As a result, the crater interior is longer in the north–south direction than it is wide. There is a gap in the western rim, and the southern rim is now little more than a low ridge on the surface.

Some time after the original impact the crater interior was covered in lava flows, leaving a nearly flat surface that is marked only by tiny craterlets. There is no central peak at the midpoint of the interior and no ridges of significance.

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 Byrd.

Byrd	Coordinates	Diameter, km
C	84°21′N 28°20′E / 84.35°N 28.34°E / 84.35; 28.34 (Byrd C)	34
D	85°31′N 33°25′E / 85.52°N 33.41°E / 85.52; 33.41 (Byrd D)	24

References

• Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
• Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
• 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.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Byrd (crater).

• LAC-1 area - Map of northern lunar pole