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Korolev (lunar crater)
Encyclopedia
Korolev is a large lunar
crater
of the walled plain type, named for Soviet rocket engineer Sergey Korolyov
. It lies on the far side of the Moon
, and the northern part of its floor crosses the lunar equator. Notable nearby craters include Galois
just to the southeast, Das
to the south-southeast, Doppler
attached to the southern rim, and Kibal'chich
to the northeast.
The outer rim of Korolev is heavily worn and eroded, with a multitude of small craterlets lying across the wide rim and the low inner wall. The interior floor is relatively flat compared to the surrounding terrain, but is pock-marked with many craters of varying sizes. The most notable of these interior craters are Korolev M in the southern part of the floor, and Korolev D next to the northeast rim.
Within the interior of Korolev is the remains of a second, inner ring. This is roughly half the diameter of the outer wall, and is the most intact in the eastern half. Here it forms a curving arc of ridges across the floor. At the mid-point of the formation, there is nothing resembling a central peak. However the craters Korolev B, Korolev T, and Korolev L lie within the diameter of the inner ring.
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...
of the walled plain type, named for Soviet rocket engineer Sergey Korolyov
Sergey Korolyov
Sergei Pavlovich Korolev ; died 14 January 1966 in Moscow, Russia) was the lead Soviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer in the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the 1950s and 1960s...
. It lies 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...
, and the northern part of its floor crosses the lunar equator. Notable nearby craters include Galois
Galois (crater)
Galois is a large lunar crater on the far side of the Moon. Features of this class are commonly termed walled plains, due to their appearance and dimension. It is located just to the southeast of another huge walled plain, Korolev, a formation nearly double the diameter of Galois...
just to the southeast, Das
Das (crater)
Das is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the northwest of the walled plain Chebyshev. To the southwest of Das is the irregular crater Mariotte, and Von der Pahlen lies to the east-northeast....
to the south-southeast, Doppler
Doppler (crater)
Doppler is a lunar impact crater named for Christian Doppler that is located at the southern edge of the walled plain Korolev, on the far side of the Moon. To the east are the craters Das and Galois. Farther to the southwest of Doppler is Mohorovičić....
attached to the southern rim, and Kibal'chich
Kibal'chich (crater)
Kibal'chich is a crater on the Moon's far side. It lies to the northeast of the large walled plain Korolev, and is attached to the southeastern outer rim of the crater Tsander....
to the northeast.
The outer rim of Korolev is heavily worn and eroded, with a multitude of small craterlets lying across the wide rim and the low inner wall. The interior floor is relatively flat compared to the surrounding terrain, but is pock-marked with many craters of varying sizes. The most notable of these interior craters are Korolev M in the southern part of the floor, and Korolev D next to the northeast rim.
Within the interior of Korolev is the remains of a second, inner ring. This is roughly half the diameter of the outer wall, and is the most intact in the eastern half. Here it forms a curving arc of ridges across the floor. At the mid-point of the formation, there is nothing resembling a central peak. However the craters Korolev B, Korolev T, and Korolev L lie within the diameter of the inner ring.
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 Korolev.| Korolev | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| B | 3.9° S | 156.1° W | 22 km |
| C | 1.3° S | 153.2° W | 68 km |
| D | 0.8° S | 151.5° W | 26 km |
| E | 3.9° S | 153.2° W | 37 km |
| F | 4.6° S | 152.6° W | 31 km |
| G | 6.0° S | 153.3° W | 12 km |
| L | 6.0° S | 156.7° W | 30 km |
| M | 8.8° S | 157.3° W | 58 km |
| P | 8.1° S | 159.9° W | 17 km |
| T | 4.4° S | 157.7° W | 22 km |
| V | 1.3° S | 161.8° W | 20 km |
| W | 0.4° S | 160.3° W | 34 km |
| X | 0.6° N | 159.0° W | 28 km |
| Y | 0.7° N | 158.2° W | 19 km |