Parsons is an impact crater on the battered far side of the Moon. It is located to the west-northwest of the crater Krylov, and to the east of Moore. Parsons is roughly circular in shape and the rim has undergone some erosion. There is a smaller, cup-shaped crater laid across the southeastern rim, and small craterlets along the northeastern and western rim edges. The interior is relatively featureless, with a floor that is about half the diameter of the crater.
 LRO WAC mosaic | |
| Coordinates | 37°18′N 171°12′W / 37.3°N 171.2°W |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 40 km |
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 171° at sunrise |
| Eponym | John W. Parsons |
The International Astronomical Union named this crater in 1972 after the rocket engineer and occultist Jack Parsons, an important participant at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
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 Parsons.
| Parsons | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| D | 38.5° N | 168.6° W | 54 km |
| E | 37.6° N | 167.8° W | 26 km |
| L | 33.6° N | 170.0° W | 31 km |
| M | 33.8° N | 171.7° W | 23 km |
| N | 34.2° N | 173.2° W | 43 km |
| P | 35.2° N | 172.8° W | 28 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.
- Carter, John (2004). Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons (new ed.). Feral House. ISBN 978-0-922915-97-2.
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- 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.