King is a prominent
lunarimpact crater that is located on the
far side of the
Moon, and can not be viewed directly from
Earth. The crater was named after
Arthur Scott King and
Edward Skinner King in 1970.[1] Prior to that, this crater was known as Crater 211.[2] It forms a pair with
Ibn Firnas, which is only slightly larger and is attached to the northeast rim of King. To the northwest is the crater
Lobachevskiy, and
Guyot is located an equal distance to the north-northwest.
Description
The outer rim of King is roughly circular but with a slightly irregular appearance, particularly at the northern end. The crater displays little appearance of wear. The inner walls are
terraced, particularly along the eastern side. Within the walls is a somewhat uneven interior floor. The interior is irregular and ridged, particularly in the eastern half. The elongated, Y-shaped central rise is part of a ridge that runs to the southern rim.
A tiny crater near the east-southeastern inner wall has been officially given the
Indian feminine name Sita by the
IAU. It is located at selenographic
coordinates 4.6° N, 120.8° E, and has a diameter of 2 kilometres.
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 King.
King
Latitude
Longitude
Diameter
J
3.2° N
121.8° E
14 km
Y
6.5° N
119.8° E
48 km
King Y is to the north of King, and it is now a "pool" of impact melt, filled at the time of the King impact. The name "Al-Tusi" had been suggested for King Y, but this was not approved by the IAU. King J is a small crater to the southeast of King, and it is covered by King's ejecta blanket.
Mountain Peaks
Several mountain peaks (Montes) within King crater have been named. The names were approved by the IAU in 1976.
^The geologic history of the Moon, 1987,
Wilhelms, Don E.; with sections by McCauley, John F.; Trask, Newell J.
USGS Professional Paper: 1348. Plate 11: Copernican System (
online)
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.
S2CID122125855.