science

Nobile (crater)

Nobile (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 Nobile (crater) rather than just read about it. In short: Nobile is a lunar impact crater that is located near the southern pole of the Moon. It was named after the Italian aviator and explorer Umberto Nobile by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1994.

Key takeaways

Nobile (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 Nobile (crater) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nobile (crater) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nobile is a lunar impact crater that is located near the southern pole of the Moon. It was named after the Italian aviator and explorer Umberto Nobile by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1994. It lies to the south of the crater Scott, along the western rim of Amundsen. Between Nobile and the southern pole lie the smaller craters Shoemaker and Faustini. This is an eroded crater formation that is almost constantly cloaked in deep shadows. When sunlight does enter the interior of this crater, it does so at a very oblique angle. The crater rim is overlaid by several lesser craters, the most notable being a formation about half the diameter of Nobile along the western rim. There are also small craters along the southwest and northern parts of the rim. The outer rampart of Amundsen overlies the eastern rim and inner wall. The interior floor of this crater is somewhat irregular, and there are a few small craterlets across the surface. Nobile was previously designated Scott A before being assigned a name by the IAU. On 20 September 2021, NASA selected the western edge of Nobile, Mons Mouton, as the landing site for the VIPER mission, set to arrive in November 2024. This mission was later cancelled in 2024 due to cost overruns. As of January 2026 Griffin Mission One is scheduled to land near Nobile in mid-2026 with a different payload, the Astrolab FLIP rover. In November 2021, the IAU named the small crater Stose (16.7 km diameter), located to the southwest of Nobile. In August 2023, the IAU named two other small craters near Nobile. One is Burbidge (21 km diameter), located on the south rim of Nobile. The other crater is Floss (9 km diameter), located near the northwest rim of Nobile.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nobile (crater)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nobile (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 Nobile (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 Nobile (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 Nobile (crater)

In research: Nobile (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 Nobile (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: Nobile (crater) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Impact craters on the Moon, LQ30 quadrangle, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nobile (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 Nobile (crater) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nobile (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 Nobile (crater) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nobile (crater) in simple terms?

Why does Nobile (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 Nobile (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 Nobile (crater).