Amundsen is a large
lunar
Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon".
Lunar may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games
* "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta
* "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...
impact crater
An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...
located near the south pole of the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
, named after the Norwegian explorer
Roald Amundsen
Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen bega ...
. It lies along the southern lunar limb, and so is viewed from the side by an observer on the
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
. To the northwest is the crater
Scott, a formation of similar dimensions that is named for another
Antarctic
The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...
explorer.
Nobile is attached to the western rim.
The rim of Amundsen is slightly distended along the southern edge, and the
terraced
In agriculture, a terrace is a piece of sloped plane that has been cut into a series of successively receding flat surfaces or platforms, which resemble steps, for the purposes of more effective farming. This type of landscaping is therefore ...
inner surface is wider at that point than elsewhere along the outer wall. The crater overlaps a smaller crater formation to the northwest, and Amundsen A is attached to the northern rim. Just to the south of Amundsen is the smaller crater
Faustini.
The inner floor is relatively flat, with a pair of central peaks near the midpoint. Much of the crater floor is cloaked in shadow during the lunar day, with only the southern floor and the central peaks receiving sunlight.
Amundsen Crater hosts 82 square kilometers of carbon dioxide cold traps, where temperatures remain below , potentially containing solid carbon dioxide. Such areas could be high-priority target sites for future landed missions.
[Paul Hayne, a planetary scientist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, quoted in: Carbon dioxide cold traps on the moon are confirmed for the first time, https://phys.org/news/2021-11-carbon-dioxide-cold-moon.html]
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Amundsen.
The crater formerly named Amundsen A is now known as
Hédervári.
See also
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1065 Amundsenia, Mars-crossing asteroid
References
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External links
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Impact craters on the Moon
{{Craters on the Moon: A–B