Whipple
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Whipple (north pole crater)
| Lat: 89.12°N, Long: 118.24°E, Diam: 15.7 km, Depth: km, Rükl: (farside) |
left: Lunar Orbiter IV In this aerial view from space, Whipple is the large, shadowed crater in the center; on the rim of the much larger Peary. The Moon's north pole is about a crater width outside the field at the top. Peary, and the direction towards Earth, are to the left.
right: LROC . North Pole close to bottom left corner; Peary floor at bottom right
Images
LPOD Photo Gallery Lunar Orbiter Images
Maps
(LAC zone 1A2) USGS Digital Atlas PDF Lunar Orbiter version
Description
Description: Wikipedia
Additional Information
- Whipple is the IAU-named crater whose center is second closest to the Moon's north pole. Hinshelwood is closer.
- Whipple is a control point in the 1994 ULCN, where it is known as G1001.
- Although its interior is constantly in shadow, and it is technically a "farside" crater, during the waxing phase of the lunation, especially between First Quarter and Full Moon, Whipple can be fairly easily spotted on photos of the Moon's north pole taken from Earth when a strong positive libration in latitude combines with the Sun being north of the Moon's equator. Under such circumstances, the neighboring crater Peary has a diamond-shaped appearance, and the sunlit rim of Whipple can be seen as a small oval at the apex of the diamond. After Full Moon, Whipple fades and the nearby crater Hinshelwood, on the opposite side of the pole, becomes visible.
Nomenclature
- Named for Fred Lawrence Whipple (1906-2004), an American astronomer noted especially for his interest in comets and meteors.
- New name approved by the IAU on April 17, 2009.
- It might be interesting to include John Adams Whipple (1822-1891), American inventor and early photographer of the moon (mentioned in the book Epic Moon by Sheehan and Dobbins).- DannyCaes Jun 6, 2014
- This name (the north pole's Whipple) is not related to Mount Whipple (a cluster of hillocks in Mare Imbrium, west-northwest of La Hire, also called La Hire Alpha). Mount Whipple was one of H.P.Wilkins's proposed names.- DannyCaes Apr 18, 2009
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