Fourier (crater)

Coordinates: 30°18′S 53°00′W / 30.3°S 53.0°W / -30.3; -53.0
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Selenochromatic Image(Si) of the crater area(top left)
Fourier
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
(black lines are artifact of image reprocessing)
Coordinates30°18′S 53°00′W / 30.3°S 53.0°W / -30.3; -53.0
Diameter51 km
Depth3.7 km
Colongitude54° at sunrise
EponymJean-B. J. Fourier

Fourier is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southwestern part of the Moon's near side, just to the southeast of the crater Vieta. To the northeast is the Mare Humorum. The rim of this crater is roughly circular, but appears oval when viewed from the Earth due to foreshortening.

Except to the north-northwest, the outer rim is not heavily eroded. The satellite crater Fourier B lies along the eastern rim and inner side. The inner wall is relatively wide, and is slumped slightly along the edge forming a shelf near the perimeter. The interior floor is just over half the diameter of the crater rim, and is relatively level with a small crater to the west of the midpoint and another near the northeast edge.

Satellite craters[edit]

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Fourier.

Fourier Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 30.2° S 49.5° W 32 km
B 30.5° S 52.0° W 11 km
C 28.5° S 51.9° W 14 km
D 31.5° S 50.4° W 21 km
E 28.7° S 50.1° W 14 km
F 28.8° S 52.7° W 14 km
G 29.4° S 51.7° W 11 km
K 30.0° S 54.2° W 10 km
L 30.2° S 52.6° W 5 km
M 30.4° S 53.1° W 4 km
N 33.5° S 56.4° W 10 km
P 31.0° S 54.9° W 9 km
R 34.2° S 51.2° W 9 km

References[edit]

  • Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
  • Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
  • Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  • Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
  • McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  • Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID 122125855.
  • Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
  • Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
  • Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
  • Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
  • Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.