Hermite (crater)
Encyclopedia
Hermite is a lunar
impact crater
located along the northern lunar limb, close to the north pole of the Moon
. It was first discovered in 1964. To the west is the crater Rozhdestvenskiy
, and to the south are Lovelace
and Sylvester
. Grignard
is located directly adjacent to the Southwest. From the Earth
this crater is viewed nearly from the side, and it is illuminated by oblique sunlight.
This is a worn, eroded crater with a rugged outer rim that is notched and incised from past impacts. A crater overlies the southwestern rim, and the two formations have merged to share a common interior floor. A pair of small craters lies along the southern part of the rim, and a small crater is also attached near the northern end. The interior floor has been resurfaced, so that it forms a wide plain that is pock-marked by numerous tiny craterlets and low hills. There is a small crater on the floor near the northeastern wall.
In 2009, it was discovered by NASA
's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
that Hermite is the coldest place recorded in the solar system, with temperatures at 25 Kelvin
(-415° Fahrenheit, −248° Celsius). For comparison, Pluto
's surface only gets down to about 43 Kelvin (-382° Fahrenheit).
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
impact crater
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
located along the northern lunar limb, close to the north pole of the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. It was first discovered in 1964. To the west is the crater Rozhdestvenskiy
Rozhdestvenskiy (crater)
Rozhdestvenskiy is a large lunar crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, within one crater diameter of the north pole. It lies sandwiched between the craters Hermite along the eastern rim, and Plaskett which intrudes slightly into the west-southwestern rim...
, and to the south are Lovelace
Lovelace (crater)
Lovelace is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just behind the northern limb. It lies to the south-southwest of the crater Hermite, and just to the north of the slightly smaller Froelich. To the east is Sylvester....
and Sylvester
Sylvester (crater)
Sylvester is a lunar impact crater that is located near the north pole of the Moon, along the northern limb in the libration zone. It lies just to the south-southeast of the craters Grignard and Hermite; the latter of which is within one crater diameter of the pole. South of Sylvester is Pascal...
. Grignard
Grignard (crater)
Grignard is a lunar impact crater on the lunar near side near the northern pole. The crater is located Northeast of Sylvester crater and is directly adjacent to the Hermite crater . The crater was adopted and named after French chemist Victor Grignard by the IAU in 2009.-External links: - Map of...
is located directly adjacent to the Southwest. From the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
this crater is viewed nearly from the side, and it is illuminated by oblique sunlight.
This is a worn, eroded crater with a rugged outer rim that is notched and incised from past impacts. A crater overlies the southwestern rim, and the two formations have merged to share a common interior floor. A pair of small craters lies along the southern part of the rim, and a small crater is also attached near the northern end. The interior floor has been resurfaced, so that it forms a wide plain that is pock-marked by numerous tiny craterlets and low hills. There is a small crater on the floor near the northeastern wall.
In 2009, it was discovered by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
The Lunar Precursor Robotic Program is a program of robotic spacecraft missions which NASA will use to prepare for future human spaceflight missions to the Moon. Two LPRP missions, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite , were launched in June 2009...
that Hermite is the coldest place recorded in the solar system, with temperatures at 25 Kelvin
Kelvin
The kelvin is a unit of measurement for temperature. It is one of the seven base units in the International System of Units and is assigned the unit symbol K. The Kelvin scale is an absolute, thermodynamic temperature scale using as its null point absolute zero, the temperature at which all...
(-415° Fahrenheit, −248° Celsius). For comparison, Pluto
Pluto
Pluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-most-massive body observed directly orbiting the Sun...
's surface only gets down to about 43 Kelvin (-382° Fahrenheit).
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Hermite.| Hermite | Coordinates | Diameter |
|---|---|---|
| A | 87.8°N 47.1°W | 20 km |