science

Humboldt (crater)

Humboldt (crater) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Humboldt (crater) rather than just read about it. In short: Humboldt is a large lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. British astronomer T.

Key takeaways

Humboldt (crater) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Humboldt (crater) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Humboldt (crater) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Humboldt is a large lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. British astronomer T. W. Webb notes this is "one of several huge rings on the limb." Due to foreshortening this formation has an extremely oblong appearance. The actual shape of the crater is an irregular circle, with a significant indentation along the southeastern rim where the prominent crater Barnard intrudes. To the north-northwest of Humboldt is the large crater Hecataeus. Phillips is attached to the western rim. On the lunar geologic timescale, Humboldt is one of the largest craters of Upper (Late) Imbrian age. The rim of Humboldt is low, worn, and irregular in outline. The central peak forms a range on the crater floor. The infrared spectrum of pure crystalline plagioclase has been identified on this rise. The floor surface contains a network of rilles forming a pattern of radial spokes and concentric arcs, making this a floor-fractured crater. There are also some dark patches located near the walls to the northeast, northwest, and southeast. There is a chain of craters leading from the northwest crater rim to a distance almost as long as the crater is wide. This formation is designated Catena Humboldt. Due to its location near the lunar limb, little detail was known about this crater until it was photographed by orbiting spacecraft (mainly Lunar Orbiter 4). The crater was named after German philologist Wilhelm von Humboldt by the IAU.

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 Humboldt. Humboldt N is the largest crater within Humboldt itself, located north of the central peak. Humboldt B is located to the south of Humboldt, on the west rim of the crater Barnard.

Catena Humboldt Catena Humboldt is a crater chain that extends northeast from crater Humboldt, and it is approximately 162 km long. It was named by the IAU in 1976. It passes between the craters Gibbs and Schorr.

Apollo 12 Views The Apollo 12 mission in 1969 obtained many photographs of Humboldt crater. In the photos below, the central peaks appear white because of the high-Sun elevation angle. The arcuate fractures within Humboldt are evidence of the forces working on the surface of the Moon to change the lunar topography.

Apollo 15 Views The Apollo 15 mission in 1971 obtained many more photographs of Humboldt crater.

References

Sources

External links Humboldt crater in 3D, using anaglyphs from Apollo cameras.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Humboldt (crater)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Humboldt (crater) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Humboldt (crater) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Humboldt (crater) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Humboldt (crater)

In research: Humboldt (crater) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Humboldt (crater) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Humboldt (crater) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Impact craters on the Moon, LQ21 quadrangle, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Humboldt (crater) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Humboldt (crater) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Humboldt (crater) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Humboldt (crater) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Humboldt (crater) in simple terms?

Humboldt is a large lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. British astronomer T.

Why does Humboldt (crater) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Humboldt (crater)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Humboldt (crater).