Kao
Apollo 17 mapping camera image, Kao at top and Helmert at bottom
Coordinates6°43′S 87°49′E / 6.71°S 87.81°E / -6.71; 87.81
Diameter34.54 km
Depth0.43 km[1]
Colongitude273° at sunrise
EponymPing-Tse Kao
Oblique view from Apollo 17

Kao is a small lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. It lies near the southern edge of the Mare Smythii, a lunar mare that continues onto the far side of the surface. This crater lies to the east-southeast of the crater Widmannstätten. Less than a crater diameter to the north-northeast is the small crater Tucker.

This crater forms part of a merged pair with Helmert to the south. There is a gap in the sides of the crater where they are joined together, and they share a common floor that has been resurfaced by lava. The outer rim of this crater now forms little more than a shallow ring in the surface, with the rim lowest along the northern side. It is unmarked by impacts of significance. However, there is a small crater along the southeastern edge where the rim joins that of Helmert.

The crater's name was approved by the IAU in 1982.[2]

References

  1. ↑ LTO-81B3 Widmannstatten, Lunar Topographic Orthophotomap (LTO) Series
  2. ↑ Kao, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
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  • Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
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  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.
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