List of valleys on the Moon
Encyclopedia
The Moon's
surface is covered in many interesting features. Among these are several large valley
s that have been given names. These are listed below.
Most of these valleys are named after a nearby crater
; see the list of craters on the Moon for more information.
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...
surface is covered in many interesting features. Among these are several large valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
s that have been given names. These are listed below.
Most of these valleys are named after a nearby 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...
; see the list of craters on the Moon for more information.
| Valley | Coordinates Selenographic coordinates Selenographic coordinates are used to refer to locations on the surface of Earth's moon. Any position on the lunar surface can be referenced by specifying two numerical values, which are comparable to the latitude and longitude of Earth... |
Dimension | Eponym Eponym An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named... |
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... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vallis Alpes Vallis Alpes Vallis Alpes is a lunar valley feature that bisects the Montes Alpes range. It extends 166 km from the Mare Imbrium basin, trending east-northeast to the edge of the Mare Frigoris. The valley is narrow at both ends and widens to a maximum width of about 10 km along the middle stretch... |
48.5°N 3.2°E | 166 km | Latin Latin Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and... name meaning "Alpine valley" |
None |
| Vallis Baade Vallis Baade Vallis Baade is a 203 km long sinuous valley on the Moon running south-southeast from the crater Baade and centered at... |
45.9°S 76.2°W | 203 km | Walter Baade Walter Baade Wilhelm Heinrich Walter Baade was a German astronomer who worked in the USA from 1931 to 1959.-Biography:He took advantage of wartime blackout conditions during World War II, which reduced light pollution at Mount Wilson Observatory, to resolve stars in the center of the Andromeda galaxy for the... |
Baade Baade (crater) Baade is a lunar impact crater that is located near the southwest limb of the Moon on the near side, to the southwest of the enormous Mare Orientale impact basin. The area to the east of this crater forms the junction between the 280-km-long Vallis Bouvard to the north and the narrower,... |
| Vallis Bohr Vallis Bohr Vallis Bohr is a valley on the Moon stretching due south of the crater Einstein. This wide cleft has a length of about 80 kilometers, and is radial to the Mare Orientale impact basin further to the south. The selenographic coordinates of this feature are .... |
12.4°N 86.6°W | 80 km | Niels Bohr Niels Bohr Niels Henrik David Bohr was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr mentored and collaborated with many of the top physicists of the century at his institute in... |
Bohr Bohr (crater) Bohr is a lunar crater that is located near the western lunar limb, in the area that is affected by librations. It is attached to the southwestern rim of the larger, eroded Vasco da Gama formation, and to the southeast of the crater Einstein.... |
| Vallis Bouvard Vallis Bouvard Vallis Bouvard is a 284-km-long valley on the Moon, centered at . It begins at the southern rim of the crater Shaler, and winds its way to the south-southeast towards Baade. This is one of several such valleys that radiate away from the southeast edge of the Mare Orientale circular impact basin,... |
38.3°S 83.1°W | 284 km | Alexis Bouvard Alexis Bouvard Alexis Bouvard was a French astronomer. He is particularly noted for his careful observations of the irregularities in the motion of Uranus and his hypothesis of the existence of an eighth planet in the solar system.-Life:... |
None |
| Vallis Capella | 7.6°S 34.9°E | 49 km | Martianus Capella Martianus Capella Martianus Minneus Felix Capella was a pagan writer of Late Antiquity, one of the earliest developers of the system of the seven liberal arts that structured early medieval education... |
Capella Capella (crater) Capella is a lunar crater in diameter that lies to the north of the Mare Nectaris, in a rugged region with many small impact craters. It intrudes slightly into the eastern rim of the crater Isidorus, a feature only slightly smaller in diameter.... |
| Vallis Inghirami | 43.8°S 72.2°W | 148 km | Giovanni Inghirami Giovanni Inghirami Giovanni Inghirami was an Italian astronomer, and a Piarist religious. There is a valley on the moon named after him as well as a crater.-Life:... |
Inghirami Inghirami (crater) Inghirami is a lunar impact crater that is located toward the southwestern limb of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the large walled plain Schickard. Northwest of Inghirami is the wide Vallis Inghirami, a wide, straight valley that is radial to the Mare Orientale impact basin... |
| Vallis Palitzsch | 26.4°S 64.3°E | 132 km | Johann Palitzsch | Palitzsch Palitzsch (crater) Palitzsch is a lunar crater that is located in the southeast part of the Moon, near the southeast rim of the crater Petavius. Just to the southwest of Palitzsch is Hase, while to the east-southeast is Legendre.... |
| Vallis Planck Vallis Planck Vallis Planck is a long, linear valley located on the far side of the Moon. It is oriented radially to the huge Schrödinger basin, and was most likely formed by that impact... |
58.4°S 126.1°E | 451 km | Max Planck Max Planck Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, ForMemRS, was a German physicist who actualized the quantum physics, initiating a revolution in natural science and philosophy. He is regarded as the founder of the quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.-Life and career:Planck came... |
Planck Planck (crater) Planck is a huge lunar crater that is located in the southern hemisphere of the Moon, on the far side as seen from the Earth. It lies to the west of the walled plain Poincaré, another enormous formation only slightly larger than Planck. Both formations are larger than the walled plain Bailly, the... |
| Vallis Rheita Vallis Rheita Vallis Rheita is a linear valley on the near side of the Moon. It is located in the southeastern quadrant, and is oriented radially to Mare Nectaris. This valley appears to share a common origin with the Vallis Snellius to the northeast, as both are oriented radially with Mare Nectaris.The center... |
42.5°S 51.5°E | 445 km | Anton Maria Schyrleus of Rheita Anton Maria Schyrleus of Rheita Anton Maria Schyrleus of Rheita was an astronomer and optician. He developed several inverting and erecting eyepieces, and was the maker of Kepler’s telescope... |
Rheita Rheita (crater) Rheita is a lunar impact crater located in the southwestern sector of the Moon. It lies to the northeast of the crater Metius, and northwest of Young. The southwestern rim overlies the edge of Vallis Rheita, a long lunar valley stretching for over 200 kilometers on a line running northeast to... |
| Vallis Schrödinger Vallis Schrödinger Vallis Schrödinger is a long, nearly linear valley that lies on the far side of the Moon. It is oriented radially to the huge Schrödinger basin and most likely was formed during the original impact that created Schrödinger.... |
67.0°S 105.0°E | 310 km | Erwin Schrödinger Erwin Schrödinger Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger was an Austrian physicist and theoretical biologist who was one of the fathers of quantum mechanics, and is famed for a number of important contributions to physics, especially the Schrödinger equation, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933... |
Schrödinger Schrödinger (crater) Schrödinger is a huge lunar impact crater of the form traditionally called a walled plain and is named after Erwin Schrödinger. It is located near the south lunar pole on the far side of the Moon, and can only be viewed from orbit. The smaller crater Ganswindt is attached to the southwestern rim of... |
| Vallis Schröteri Vallis Schröteri Schroter's Valley, frequently known by the Latinized name Vallis Schröteri, is a sinuous valley or rille on the surface of the near side of the Moon. It is located on a rise of continental ground, sometimes called the Aristarchus plateau, that is surrounded by the Oceanus Procellarum to the south... |
26.2°N 50.8°W | 168 km | Johann Hieronymus Schröter | Schröter Schröter (lunar crater) Schröter is a lunar crater near the mid-part of the Moon, on the eastern Mare Insularum, and named after German astronomer Johann Hieronymus Schröter. It lies to the north of the craters Sömmering and Mösting. To the southeast of the crater rim is a rille named the Rima Schröter... |
| Vallis Snellius Vallis Snellius Vallis Snellius is a linear valley on the near side of the Moon. It is located in the rugged southeastern part of the visible surface, to the south of the Mare Fecunditatis. This feature is radial to the Mare Nectaris basin to the west-northwest, much like Vallis Rheita to the southwest, and the... |
31.1°S 56.0°E | 592 km | Willebrord Snell | Snellius Snellius (crater) Snellius is a lunar crater located near the southeast limb of the Moon. Because of foreshortening the crater appears oval in shape, although it is actually nearly round. To the northeast is the large crater Petavius. South of Snellius is the crater Stevinus.... |
See also
- List of craters on the Moon
- List of features on the Moon
- List of maria on the Moon
- List of mountains on the Moon