Campbell (lunar crater)
Encyclopedia
Campbell is a large lunar
crater
that is located in the northern hemisphere
on the far side of the Moon
. It lies to the southwest of the walled plain D'Alembert
, an even larger formation. If Campbell were located on the near side of the Moon as seen from the Earth
, it would form one of the largest visible craters, being slightly larger than Schickard
. It is bordered by several craters of note, with Wiener
to the southwest, Von Neumann
just to the south, Ley
overlying the southeast rim, and Pawsey
to the west.
This formation has been heavily worn and eroded by a history of impacts, leaving a circular rim that is an irregular ring of ridges and peaks. Multiple small craters lie along the rim and the inner wall, as well as across the interior floor. The most notable of these are Campbell X along the northeast inner rim and Campbell N near the southern inner wall.
Much of the inner floor is covered by a multitude of lesser impacts; the exception being a wide patch of the floor that has been resurfaced by basalt
ic lava
. This area has a lower albedo
than its surroundings, thus appearing dark. It stretches from the center of Campbell towards the western rim, and has an irregular perimeter.
There is an unusual crater lying to the south of Campbell and to the west of Von Neumann. This is formed by two or more overlapping craters, the most recent being Wiener F, a nearly hexagonal formation with a rugged interior.
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
crater
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
that is located in the northern hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
on the far side of the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. It lies to the southwest of the walled plain D'Alembert
D'Alembert (crater)
D'Alembert is a large lunar impact crater located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon, to the northeast of the somewhat smaller walled plain Campbell. Astride the southwest rim of D'Alembert is Slipher. To the north is the crater Yamamoto, and to the south-southwest lies Langevin...
, an even larger formation. If Campbell were located on the near side of the Moon as seen from the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, it would form one of the largest visible craters, being slightly larger than Schickard
Schickard (crater)
Schickard is a lunar impact crater of the form called a walled plain. It lies in the southwest sector of the Moon, near the lunar limb. As a result the crater appears oblong due to foreshortening. Attached to the northern rim is the lesser crater Lehmann, and to the northeast is the even smaller...
. It is bordered by several craters of note, with Wiener
Wiener (crater)
Wiener is a lunar impact crater that lies on the Moon's far side. It is located just to the southwest of the larger crater Campbell. To the southwest of Wiener is the heavily worn Kurchatov. To the east along the rim of Campbell is Von Neumann...
to the southwest, Von Neumann
Von Neumann (crater)
Von Neumann is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, in the northern hemisphere. It is nearly attached to the south-southeastern rim of the walled plain Campbell. The crater Ley is attached to the northeastern rim of Von Neumann, and is somewhat overlain by the outer rampart...
just to the south, Ley
Ley (crater)
Ley is a lunar impact crater that is located across the southern rim of the much larger walled plain Campbell. Intruding into the south-southwestern rim of Ley is the slightly larger crater Von Neumann....
overlying the southeast rim, and Pawsey
Pawsey (crater)
Pawsey is a worn impact crater that lies next to the northern outer ramparts of the crater Wiener, on the far side of the Moon. To the east-northeast of Pawsey is the large crater Campbell, and farther to the west is Bridgman....
to the west.
This formation has been heavily worn and eroded by a history of impacts, leaving a circular rim that is an irregular ring of ridges and peaks. Multiple small craters lie along the rim and the inner wall, as well as across the interior floor. The most notable of these are Campbell X along the northeast inner rim and Campbell N near the southern inner wall.
Much of the inner floor is covered by a multitude of lesser impacts; the exception being a wide patch of the floor that has been resurfaced by basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
ic lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
. This area has a lower albedo
Albedo
Albedo , or reflection coefficient, is the diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface. It is defined as the ratio of reflected radiation from the surface to incident radiation upon it...
than its surroundings, thus appearing dark. It stretches from the center of Campbell towards the western rim, and has an irregular perimeter.
There is an unusual crater lying to the south of Campbell and to the west of Von Neumann. This is formed by two or more overlapping craters, the most recent being Wiener F, a nearly hexagonal formation with a rugged interior.
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Campbell.| Campbell | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 52.2° N | 155.2° E | 20 km |
| E | 46.4° N | 158.6° E | 15 km |
| N | 43.2° N | 152.3° E | 23 km |
| X | 47.7° N | 149.4° E | 24 km |
| Z | 48.8° N | 152.9° E | 28 km |