Irregular Mare Patches (IMPs)

Irregular Mare Patches (IMPs)

Online page created by Danny Caes on October the 12th of the year 2014, at 2:22 P.M.

I don't write books, because there isn't enough paper.
Danny C.

LROC article

New Evidence for Young Lunar Volcanism!

Small catalog of IMPs (and clusters of IMPs) on the moon's near side (derived from the LROC article)

• Aristarchus (A)
• Aristarchus North. A curious crackled region at LAT: 25.05 / LON: -46.77, at the north-northeastern outer slopes of Aristarchus (see also LROC RDR Product NAC Anaglyph: Ina D-like Feature) (page 79, the 6th item).
• Cauchy 5, at LAT: 7.12 / LON: 37.6; west of the dome Cauchy Omega with craterlet Donna on top of it.
• Gruithuisen E-M region (GEM)
• GEM 30. An unnamed depression northeast of Gruithuisen S contains lots of curious IMPs, of which the largest one is located near the northwestern inner slopes of that depression, at LAT: 37.92 / LON: -45.216.
• Hyginus (H)
• Ina at Lacus Felicitatis (I) (the most well-known example of a lunar IMP, already captured on orbital photographs made during Apollo 15 and Apollo 17).
• Mare Nubium (MN). This is probably the elongated IMP at LAT: -25.7 / LON: -27.66, east-northeast of Campanus A, in an unnamed irregular system of hillocks (probably part of the group known as the Golubiz cluster, an informal name only printed on the Rand McNally moonmap).
• Mare Tranquillitatis (MT)
• Marius Hills (MH)
• Maskelyne (M). This is probably the fried egg shaped IMP at LAT: 4.35 / LON: 33.72, about halfway between Wallach and Maskelyne F.
• Sosigenes (S) (see: Rimae Sosigenes, the curious unnamed elongated depression in it, at approximately 8°30' North/ 19° East)(a fine target for common telescopes!) (called the SIMP by D.Caes: Sosigenes Irregular Mare Patch).

Independent experimental list of IMPs and fields of IMPs derived from the official "70 items" catalog

A (to be compiled) list by Danny Caes, with some additional info.
 
 IMPORTANT NOTE: the purpose of this independent experimental list is to find out if the pinpoint LAC / LON coordinates from the "70 items" catalog are correct. My own exploration is not intended to launch scientific hypotheses or theories or so, it's only a way to get familiar with extremely small regions on the moon, and how to detect them in the online LROC ACT-REACT QUICK MAP (and most important of all: to try to give these IMPs and clusters of IMPs some sort of nicknames, to make them easy to recognize!). Compare this experimental IMP exploration with the fine hobby of detecting telescopic asterisms and less-known small star clusters in the milky way regions. There's nothing scientific in this sort of explorations, it's only a pastime to get familiar with the wonders of the moon's surface formations and our galaxy's starry conglomerations.
 

1	Sosigenes (SIMP)	To the east of Sosigenes (at Rimae Sosigenes)	Tranquillitatis	LAT 8.335	LON 19.071
2	Ina caldera	At Lacus Felicitatis (the most well-known one of the IMPs)	L.Felicitatis	LAT 18.650	LON 5.300
3	Cauchy 5	Field of IMPs west of Donna	Tranquillitatis	LAT 7.169	LON 37.592
4	Maskelyne	The (what looks like a) Fried Egg between Wallach and Maskelyne F	Tranquillitatis	LAT 4.330	LON 33.750
5	Nubium	ENE of Campanus A (the most southwestern example of IMPs?) (the most remote too?)	Nubium	LAT -25.724	LON -27.681
6	Ross E 1	SSE of Ross E	Tranquillitatis	LAT 10.460	LON 23.547
7	Maclear 2	SSE of Maclear	Tranquillitatis	LAT 9.102	LON 20.298
8	Aristarchus North	NNE of Aristarchus	O.Procellarum	LAT 25.044	LON -46.767
9	Arago 5	Field of IMPs SE of Maclear, to the SW of Ross H	Tranquillitatis	LAT 9.230	LON 20.824
10	Unnamed	NNW of Arago	Tranquillitatis	LAT 7.559	LON 20.984
11	Jansen 1	SE of the couple Jansen U (between Jansen U and Jansen T)	Tranquillitatis	LAT 11.669	LON 32.659
12	Unnamed	WSW of Arago E, NNW of Arago D	Tranquillitatis	LAT 8.298	LON 21.600
13	Unnamed	IMP WNW of Jansen G, and another one slightly westward	Tranquillitatis	LAT 9.580	LON 25.514
14	Unnamed	NNW of Arago	Tranquillitatis	LAT 7.348	LON 20.897
15	Maclear 1	Fish-shaped IMP (with fish-tail !) WNW of Arago E (string of small IMPs E. of Fish). J.Moore's Whale	Tranquillitatis	LAT 8.891	LON 21.487
16	Unnamed	WNW of Arago E (immediately north of small craterlet and string of small IMPs)	Tranquillitatis	LAT 9.112	LON 21.758
17	Unnamed	W. of Ross H (between Maclear and Ross H) (nearer to Ross H)	Tranquillitatis	LAT 10.310	LON 21.360
18	Unnamed (Sosigenes)_	Several IMPs on the W. part of the floor of Sosigenes. J.Moore's Squid	Tranquillitatis	LAT 8.670	LON 17.510
19	Unnamed	WNW of Jansen G	Tranquillitatis	LAT 9.564	LON 25.392
20	Unnamed	ENE of Jansen G	Tranquillitatis	LAT 9.432	LON 26.287
21	Unnamed	Elongated cluster of tiny spots	Imbrium	LAT 21.653	LON -0.865
22	Unnamed	South of Maclear. J.Moore's Claw	Tranquillitatis	LAT 9.540	LON 20.220
23	Gem 30	Many small patches in unnamed non-circular crater NE of Gruithuisen S		LAT 37.919	LON -45.221
24	Unnamed	The "T " NNW of Arago D / SW of Arago E	Tranquillitatis	LAT 7.887	LON 21.937
25	Jansen 2	"Spill " from dimple craterlet, WSW of Jansen T	Tranquillitatis	LAT 11.235	LON 32.806
26	Unnamed	IMP just south of a small craterlet (looking like a "spill "), WSW of Maclear	Tranquillitatis	LAT 10.163	LON 19.228
27	Unnamed	Difficult to see, seems to be a cluster of high-albedo spots ESE of Bessarion V	Insularum	LAT 14.440	LON -33.656
28	Gem 1	Cluster of two or perhaps three IMPs north-northwest of Gruithuisen E, north of GEM 4		LAT 38.152	LON -44.6
29	Unnamed	Dome shaped IMP? About halfway between Jansen G and Ross G	Tranquillitatis	LAT 10.045	LON 25.247
30	Manilius 1	"N + S America" shaped depressions, west of Manilius + Manilius's dark halo craterlet	Vaporum	LAT 14.889	LON 6.467
31	Unnamed	Very nearby Maclear, immediately "beyond" the ENE part of its rim	Tranquillitatis	LAT 10.770	LON 20.520
32	Unnamed	2 IMPs south of Maclear (one of the two not completely imaged on the Quick-Map's NAC)	Tranquillitatis	LAT 9.102	LON 20.265
33	Unnamed	South of Ross G, NAC images on the ACT-REACT QUICK MAP are absent (july 2017)	Tranquillitatis	LAT 9.894	LON 24.851
34	Unnamed	LON: -40.6289, Elongated (NW-SE) Gruithuisen P	Imbrium	LAT 37.121	LON -40.626
35	Unnamed	In Hyginus Z	Vaporum	LAT 8.279	LON 9.319
36	Carrel 1	Broken Ellipse NW Jansen G	Tranquillitatis	LAT 9.817	LON 25.519
37	Manilius 2	West of Manilius + Manilius's dark halo craterlet. IMP in shallow dimple craterlet	Vaporum	LAT 14.628	LON 6.821
38	Unnamed	ENE of Arago E, SSE of small ray-craterlet	Tranquillitatis	LAT 9.244	LON 23.924
39	Gem 24	Very small IMPs on floor of incomplete shallow crater NNW of Gruithuisen M		LAT 37.428	LON -43.543
40	Gem 4	Arc-shaped cluster of IMPs north-northwest of Gruithuisen E, south of GEM 1		LAT 38.090	LON -44.584
41	Gem 28	IMP on northern part of a dimple craterlet's rim, NNW of Gruithuisen M		LAT 37.304	LON -43.628
42	Unnamed	NW Arago C (in southern extension of P.Leonardi's Arcuate Fractures)	Tranquillitatis	LAT 4.096	LON 21.218
43	Gem 3	IMP with half-submerged craterlet and "central hillock" ? (NNW of Gruithuisen E)		LAT 38.115	LON -44.677
44	Unnamed	WNW Arago E (east-west strip of small IMPs)	Tranquillitatis	LAT 8.844	LON 21.762
45	Unnamed	Along Rima Bode II, west of the officially unnamed vent	S.Aestuum	LAT 13.131	LON -4.361
46	Hyginus	On the floor of Hyginus, several IMPs	Vaporum	LAT 7.726	LON 6.350
47	Unnamed	ESE Donna	Tranquillitatis	LAT 7.083	LON 38.574
48	Unnamed	Northern part of small shallow crater	Tranquillitatis	LAT 8.714	LON 19.383
49	Unnamed	SE Ross G, NW Jansen G	Tranquillitatis	LAT 10.101	LON 25.278
50	Unnamed	Cluster of small IMPs	S.Aestuum	LAT 12.931	LON -3.806
51	Unnamed	ESE Bessarion V, at the eastern rim of a small crater	Insularum	LAT 14.597	LON -33.979
52	Gem 21	IMPs in some sort of "Cassini " lookalike crater north of Gruithuisen E		LAT 37.882	LON -44.288
53	Gem 32	In unnamed non-circle shaped crater NE of Gruithuisen S, along with many more IMPs		LAT 37.826	LON -45.129
54	Gem 7	Somewhat snake or worm shaped IMP north-northeast of Gruithuisen E		LAT 38.058	LON -44.073
55	Unnamed	Within the SW part of Lamont's floor, peculiar ghost crater with IMP abundance	Tranquillitatis	LAT 4.550	LON 22.882
56	Unnamed	Field of small IMPs WSW of Taruntius F, ESE of Menzel (about halfway of these two)	Tranquillitatis	LAT 2.934	LON 38.975
57	Gem 11	Immediately east of the "Cassini " lookalike crater north of Gruithuisen E		LAT 37.941	LON -44.218
58	Unnamed	Many small IMPs ENE of Lubbock H, SSW of Secchi X (on the rim of dimple craterlet)	Fecunditatis	LAT -2.008	LON 43.333
59	Gem 31	East-northeast of the "Cassini " lookalike crater north of Gruithuisen E		LAT 38.018	LON -44.113
60	Unnamed	Very small IMPs northwest of Arago E	Tranquillitatis	LAT 9.012	LON 22.248
61	Unnamed	Small IMPs southeast of Ross H, north-northwest of Arago E	Tranquillitatis	LAT 9.738	LON 22.320
62	Unnamed	Small IMP east-northeast of Lubbock H, south of Secchi X	Fecunditatis	LAT -2.113	LON 43.512
63	Unnamed	Prinz 1, NNE of Prinz, east of Ivan, immediately west of the LTO's Rima Handel	O.Procellarum	LAT 26.786	LON -42.959
64	Unnamed	East-southeast of Bessarion V	Insularum	LAT 14.468	LON -33.729
65	Gem 35	According to the LAC / LON coordinates this should be the eastern part of the rim of the small crater several kilometers NNW of Gruithuisen G		LAT 36.937	LON -44.121
66	Gem 29			LAT 37.904	LON -45.08
67	Gem 26			LAT 37.417	LON -43.577
68	Gem 17			LAT 37.974	LON -44.285
69	Gem 12			LAT 37.995	LON -44.159
70_	Gem 6			LAT 37.864	LON -44.478

Independently discovered IMPs (or possible IMPs and kipuka-like formations), by Danny Caes

It could be that these IMPs (or possible IMPs and kipuka-like formations) are already discovered and mentioned in the general list of 70 IMPs which was published in scientific literature. Anyway, for me it is a fine pastime to try to discover them on my own (and perhaps... previously undetected ones too!). The exploration of the online LROC's ACT-REACT Quick Map (to detect IMPs and possible kipuka formations) started on monday-evening the 13th of October 2014. See list below:
 
 The Al-Bakri sector in Mare Tranquillitatis (independently discovered IMPs, not mentioned in the list of 70)
 

• Al-Bakri 1: south-southwest of Al-Bakri (about halfway between Al-Bakri and the elongated hill unofficially known as the Seagull by the folks of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Moon), at LAT: 13.95 / LON: 20.05 (2 examples, a large and a small one, the large one of the two has a length of about 600 meters). http://bit.ly/12Zvw7c
• Al-Bakri 2: north-northwest of Al-Bakri, at LAT: 14.6680 / LON: 20.0460 (diameter about 200 meters).http://bit.ly/ZVzg7P

The Arago sector in Mare Tranquillitatis

• North-northwest of Arago, at LAT: 7.56 / LON: 20.979 (and a cluster of very small ones to the northeast of it).
• Also north-northwest of Arago, at LAT: 7.35 / LON: 20.896 (and a very tiny one immediately northwest of it).
• West-southwest of Arago E, at LAT: 8.3 / LON: 21.6
• Southwest of Arago E, north-northwest of Arago D (a T-shaped one), at LAT: 7.89 / LON: 21.93 (the base of the "T" is pointing westward).

The Bessarion sector in the most northern part of Mare Insularum
Note:
The region east of Bessarion V is crowded by a high number of very small IMPs, scattered all over! This crowded IMP field needs its own catalog! This field seems to have an unnamed crater at LAT: 14.6 / LON: -34 as its "centre". - DannyCaes Oct 21, 2014

• East-southeast of Bessarion V, at the eastern part of a small unnamed crater's rim (LAT: 14.6 / LON: -33.98). This is probably number 51 in the list of 70.
• East of Bessarion V, at LAT 14.92 / LON -33.7 (the rim of a very shallow depression, diameter about 700 meters). http://bit.ly/2p146bW
• East of Bessarion V, at LAT 14.84 / LON -33.885 (the rim of a very shallow craterlet, diameter about 600 meters).
• East-southeast of Bessarion V, at LAT 14.27 / LON -33.57 (several small IMPs in a small dimple craterlet, diameter about 500 meters).
• East-southeast of Bessarion V, at LAT 14.56 / LON -33.86 (small field of very small IMPs, diameter of field uncertain, something to explore at extreme close-up!).

The Gruithuisen G and M (GEM) sector (derived from the list of 70)

• GEM 1: LAT 38.152 / LON 315.400
• GEM 2: ?
• GEM 3: LAT 38.115 / LON 315.323
• GEM 4: LAT 38.090 / LON 315.416
• GEM 5: ?
• GEM 6: LAT 37.864 / LON 315.522
• GEM 7: LAT 38.058 / LON 315.927
• GEM 8: ?
• GEM 9: ?
• GEM 10: ?
• GEM 11: LAT 37.941 / LON 315.782
• GEM 12: LAT 37.995 / LON 315.841
• GEM 13: ?
• GEM 14: ?
• GEM 15: ?
• GEM 16: ?
• GEM 17: LAT 37.974 / LON 315.715
• GEM 18: ?
• GEM 19: ?
• GEM 20: ?
• GEM 21: LAT 37.882 / LON 315.712
• GEM 22: ?
• GEM 23: ?
• GEM 24: LAT 37.428 / LON 316.457
• GEM 25: ?
• GEM 26: LAT 37.417 / LON 316.423
• GEM 27: ?
• GEM 28: LAT 37.304 / LON 316.372
• GEM 29: LAT 37.904 / LON 314.920
• GEM 30: LAT 37.919 / LON 314.779
• GEM 31: LAT 38.018 / LON 315.887
• GEM 32: LAT 37.826 / LON 314.871
• GEM 33: ?
• GEM 34: ?
• GEM 35: LAT 36.937 / LON 315.879

The Jansen sector in Mare Tranquillitatis

• Southeast of Jansen U, at LAT: 11.67 / LON: 32.66 (note: what I see on the NAC image looks like a "spill" of a high-albedo "fluid" on the floor of a small shallow depression).
• East-northeast of Jansen G, at LAT: 9.43 / LON: 26.29 (a typical "Ina"-like IMP, diameter about 400 meters).

The Lamont sector in Mare Tranquillitatis

• The more-or-less circle shaped central part of the wrinkle ridge system which is officially known as Lamont contains a unique ring-shaped abundance of Irregular Mare Patches (IMPs). Research: John Moore.
  See lower part of the page Ghost Craters.

The Maclear sector in Mare Tranquillitatis

• West-southwest of Maclear, at the southern outskirts of a small unnamed craterlet (diam: about 800 meters) at LAT: 10.19 / LON: 19.23
• South-southeast of Maclear, at LAT: 9.06 / LON: 20.37 (diam: about 1 km, with small ones west of it).
• South of Maclear, at LAT: 9.54 / LON: 20.25 (cluster of three in a row, arranged in a west-northwest / east-southeast orientation).
• East of Maclear, at LAT: 10.60 / LON: 20.94 (a snake shaped one).
• East of Maclear, at LAT: 10.604 / LON: 20.9 (a small one, diameter about 100 meters).
• South-southeast of Maclear, at LAT: 9.283 / LON: 20.766 (this is only one member of a group of about four).

The Manilius sector in Mare Vaporum

• Manilius 1 (number 30 in the catalog of 70 IMPs) is detectable at LAT 14.889 / LON 6.467 http://bit.ly/ZVy18O
• Manilius 2 (number 37) is detectable at LAT 14.628 / LON 6.821
• Warning: both Manilius 1 and 2 are very small formations. The diameter of Manilius 1 is 270 meters, Manilius 2 is 200 meters.

The Prinz sector in Oceanus Procellarum (an independently discovered cluster of very small IMPs, not mentioned in the list of 70, or perhaps as number 63)

• Prinz 1, at LAT 26.79 / LON -42.96 (east of Ivan, immediately west of Rima Handel)(northwest of its bowl-shaped "source").

The Puiseux D sector in Mare Humorum (an independently discovered small cluster of curious depressions, perhaps IMP related?)

• http://bit.ly/1p3gnvB (east of Puiseux D, in an unnamed wrinkle ridge).

The Ross sector in Mare Tranquillitatis

• South-southeast of Ross E, at LAT: 10.46 / LON: 23.59 (a somewhat curved one, with small ones nearby).

Additional notes

• I seem to remember some Hi-Res Lunar Orbiter and/or Apollo photographs of rare IMP-like surface formations, printed in Peter Schultz's splendid book Moon Morphology, and described by him as kipuka. - DannyCaes Oct 13, 2014
• WARNING: these IMPs should not be confused with the (what I call) white spots on the uppermost parts of wrinkle ridges. These white spots are composed of small fields of boulders and rocks, and look deceptively IMP-like on high-resolution NACs made during local noon circumstances (high sun, no shadows, the odd appearances of peculiar chains full of strange white spots). - DannyCaes Oct 26, 2014

LPOD articles

Turning Understanding on its Head (the Sosigenes ISP)