Schröter is a
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 depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...
near the mid-part of the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
, on the eastern
Mare Insularum
Mare Insularum (Latin ''īnsulārum'', the "sea of islands") is a lunar mare located in the Insularum basin just south of the western Mare Imbrium. The basin material is of the Lower Imbrian epoch, with the mare material of the Upper Imbrian ep ...
. It was named by the
IAU
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
in 1935 after German astronomer
Johann Hieronymus Schröter
Johann Hieronymus Schröter (30 August 1745, Erfurt – 29 August 1816, Lilienthal) was a German astronomer.
Life
Schröter was born in Erfurt, and studied law at Göttingen University from 1762 until 1767, after which he started a ten- ...
.
It lies to the north of the craters
Sömmering and
Mösting.
The rim of Schröter is heavily worn and eroded, with a wide gap in the southern wall and a deep indentation to the southeast. There is no central peak at the crater's midpoint. A widely spaced row of tiny craters forms a line westwards from the north rim of Schröter.
Professor
W. H. Pickering produced
drawing
Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...
s of this crater displaying eruptions of
steam
Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
that he believed he witnessed. This
transient lunar phenomenon
A transient lunar phenomenon (TLP) or lunar transient phenomenon (LTP) is a short-lived change in light, color or appearance on the surface of the Moon. The term was created by Patrick Moore in his co-authorship of NASA Technical Report R-277 ''Ch ...
was not confirmed by other observers.
To the north of Schröter, beginning with the satellite crater Schröter W, is a region of irregular terrain. This area includes an array of linear dark surface markings that appear to criss-cross. In the 19th century,
Franz von Paula Gruithuisen
Franz von Paula (Franciscus de Paula) Gruithuisen (19 March 1774 – 21 June 1852) was a Bavarian physician and astronomer. He taught medical students before becoming a professor of astronomy at the University of Munich in 1826.
During his peri ...
is noted for claiming that this area contained a lunar
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
(which he called ''Wallwerk''), based on his observations using a small
refracting telescope
A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens (optics), lens as its objective (optics), objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptrics, dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope d ...
. This inference was greeted with considerable skepticism by astronomers at the time, and, indeed, subsequent observations with more powerful instruments demonstrated that this was merely a natural feature.
To the southeast of the crater rim is a
rille
Rille (German for 'groove') is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the surface of the Moon that resemble channels. The Latin term is ''rima'', plural ''rimae''. Typically, a rille can be several kilometers w ...
named the Rima Schröter. This cleft begins at a small crater in the
mare
A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...
, then follows a line to the south-southeast.
About 100 km to the west-northwest of Schröter is the crash site of
Surveyor 2.
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 Schröter.
See also
*
Schröter's Valley - a valley located in the midwest of the lunar Nearside.
References
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External links
*
Lunar Orbiter 1
The 1966 Lunar Orbiter 1 robotic spacecraft mission, part of NASA's Lunar Orbiter program, was the first American spacecraft to orbit the Moon. It was designed primarily to photograph smooth areas of the lunar surface for selection and verific ...
image
113an
114 showing parts of Rimae Schröter
Schröter at The Moon Wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schroter (Lunar Crater)
Impact craters on the Moon