Lyapunov (crater)
Encyclopedia
Lyapunov is a lunar
crater
named for Aleksandr Lyapunov
that is located along the east-northeastern limb of the Moon
, and is viewed from the side by observers on Earth
. The eastern rim of this crater just falls into the section of the Moon called the far side, and visibility of this formation is affected by libration
.
This crater is attached to the south-southeastern rim of the larger walled plain Rayleigh
. It is also attached to the western rim of the much larger walled plain Joliot
, a formation that lies entirely on the far side of the Moon. To the south-southwest of Lyapunov is the crater Hubble
.
The shape of this crater's rim has been modified due to the large adjacent formations, so that it is somewhat polygon
al rather than circular. The rim along the western side is less affected by reshaping, although it too is worn by impact erosion. The ejecta from nearby impacts partly covers the northern and some of the southeastern parts of the interior floor. The former forms a triangular section of rough ground that reaches to the mid-point of the floor. The remainder of the floor is relatively level and marked only by tiny craterlets.
Note that some publications list this crater as "Liapunov".
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...
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...
named for Aleksandr Lyapunov
Aleksandr Lyapunov
Aleksandr Mikhailovich Lyapunov was a Russian mathematician, mechanician and physicist. His surname is sometimes romanized as Ljapunov, Liapunov or Ljapunow....
that is located along the east-northeastern limb 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...
, and is viewed from the side by observers on 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...
. The eastern rim of this crater just falls into the section of the Moon called the far side, and visibility of this formation is affected by libration
Libration
In astronomy, libration is an oscillating motion of orbiting bodies relative to each other, notably including the motion of the Moon relative to Earth, or of Trojan asteroids relative to planets.-Lunar libration:...
.
This crater is attached to the south-southeastern rim of the larger walled plain Rayleigh
Rayleigh (lunar crater)
Rayleigh is a lunar crater that lies along the northeast limb of the Moon. This feature is seen edge-on from Earth, making it difficult to see much detail. In addition, libration effects can completely hide this crater from view. It lies just to the north of Lyapunov, and to the northwest of the...
. It is also attached to the western rim of the much larger walled plain Joliot
Joliot (crater)
Joliot is a large lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, just past the eastern limb. At this location it lies in a region of the surface that comes into sight during a favorable libration, although at such times it is viewed from the side...
, a formation that lies entirely on the far side of the Moon. To the south-southwest of Lyapunov is the crater Hubble
Hubble (crater)
Hubble is a lunar crater that lies very near the east-northeastern limb of the Moon. At this location it is viewed almost from the side from Earth, and the visibility of this feature is affected by libration. It lies to the north of the Mare Marginis and northeast of the crater Cannon...
.
The shape of this crater's rim has been modified due to the large adjacent formations, so that it is somewhat polygon
Polygon
In geometry a polygon is a flat shape consisting of straight lines that are joined to form a closed chain orcircuit.A polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments...
al rather than circular. The rim along the western side is less affected by reshaping, although it too is worn by impact erosion. The ejecta from nearby impacts partly covers the northern and some of the southeastern parts of the interior floor. The former forms a triangular section of rough ground that reaches to the mid-point of the floor. The remainder of the floor is relatively level and marked only by tiny craterlets.
Note that some publications list this crater as "Liapunov".