Linné is a small lunar impact crater located in the western Mare Serenitatis. It was named after Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus.[1] The mare around this feature is virtually devoid of other features of interest. The nearest named crater is Banting to the east-southeast. The estimated age of this copernican crater is only a few tens of millions of years. It was earlier believed to have a bowl shape, but data [2] from the LRO showed that it has a shape of a flattened, inverted cone. The crater is surrounded by a blanket of ejecta formed during the original impact. This ejecta has a relatively high albedo, making the feature appear bright.
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Coordinates | 27°42′N 11°48′E / 27.7°N 11.8°E |
---|---|
Diameter | 2.4 km (1.5 miles) |
Depth | 0.6 km (0.3 miles) |
Colongitude | 348° at sunrise |
Eponym | Carl Linnaeus |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Linne_crater_4098_h1.jpg/220px-Linne_crater_4098_h1.jpg)
In 1824 Wilhelm Lohrmann (1786-1840) of Dresden had drawn Linné as an 8 km diameter crater in his acclaimed lunar atlas, and in 1837 Wilhelm Beer and Johann Heinrich Mädler had described Linne in Der Mond as a 10 km crater.[3] In 1866, the experienced lunar observer and mapmaker Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt made the surprising claim that Linné had changed its appearance. Instead of a normal, somewhat deep crater it had become a mere white patch. A controversy arose that continued for many decades. However, this crater size tests the limit of visual perception of Earth-based telescopes. In conditions of poor visibility this feature can appear to vanish from sight [4] (see also transient lunar phenomenon).
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Linn%C3%A9_crater_color_coded_shaded_relief_map_detail.png/220px-Linn%C3%A9_crater_color_coded_shaded_relief_map_detail.png)
Satellite craters
editBy convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Linné.
Linné | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
A | 28.9° N | 14.4° E | 4 km |
B | 30.5° N | 14.2° E | 5 km |
D | 28.7° N | 17.1° E | 5 km |
F | 32.3° N | 13.9° E | 5 km |
G | 35.9° N | 13.3° E | 5 km |
H | 33.7° N | 13.8° E | 3 km |
The following craters have been renamed by the IAU.
- Linné E — See Banting (crater).
References
edit- ^ "Linné (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
- ^ "Linne: Simple Lunar Mare crater geometry from LRO observations", 42nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2011)
- ^ David Leverington, Babylon to Voyager and Beyond: A History of Planetary Astronomy, Cambridge University Press, 2003
- ^ "The Linne' crater controversey [sic]", The Lunascan Project
Bibliography
edit- 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.
External links
edit- LTO-42A4 Linne — L&PI topographic map
- Wood, Chuck (December 12, 2004). "Swell Linné". Lunar Photo of the Day.