Tycho (lunar crater): Difference between revisions

{{short description|Prominent lunar impact crater}}{{use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}

| name = Tycho

| image = Tycho LRO.png

| image_size =

| caption = Tycho seen by [[Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter]] (rotate display if you see a [[crater illusion]] due to the atypical position of the light source). [[NASA]]

| coordinates = {{coord|43.31|S|11.36|W|globe:moon_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| diameter = 85 km (53.4 miles)

| depth = {{convert|4.7|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name="Margot99">{{cite journal |last1=Margot |first1=Jean-Luc |last2=Campbell |first2=Donald B. |last3=Jurgens |first3=Raymond F. |last4=Slade |first4=Martin A. |title=The topography of Tycho Crater |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets |date=25 May 1999 |volume=104 |issue=E5 |pages=11875–11882 |doi=10.1029/1998JE900047|bibcode=1999JGR...10411875M }}</ref>

| colong = 12

| eponym = [[Tycho Brahe]]

[[Image:Lage des Mondkraters Tycho.jpg|thumb|right|Location of Tycho as seen from the [[Northern Hemisphere]]]]

[[File:Tycho.stl|thumb|3D model of Tycho crater]]

'''Tycho''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|aɪ|k|oʊ}}) is a prominent [[Lunar craters|lunar impact]] [[impact crater|crater]] located in the southern lunar highlands, named after the Danish astronomer [[Tycho Brahe]] (1546–1601).<ref name=gpn>{{gpn|6163}}, accessed 19 February 2019</ref> It is estimated to be 108 million years old.<ref name="lro">{{cite web |title=The floor of Tycho crater |series=[[Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter]] |publisher=[[NASA]] |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/lroc-20100114-tycho.html |date=3 August 2017 |access-date=1 July 2018 |archive-date=30 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330203111/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/lroc-20100114-tycho.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

To the south of Tycho is the crater [[Street (crater)|Street]], to the east is [[Pictet (crater)|Pictet]], and to the north-northeast is [[Sasserides (crater)|Sasserides]]. The surface around Tycho is replete with craters of various sizes, many overlapping still older craters. Some of the smaller craters are secondary craters formed from larger chunks of [[ejecta]] from Tycho.

It is one of the [[Moon|Moon's]] brightest craters,<ref name=lro/> with a diameter of {{cvt|85|km}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Wood |first=Charles A. |date=2006-08-01 |title=Tycho: The metropolitan crater of the Moon |magazine=[[Sky & Telescope]] |url=http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/celestial-objects-to-watch/tycho-the-metropolitan-crater-of-the-moon/ |access-date=2018-06-19}}</ref> and a depth of {{cvt|4700|m}}.<ref name=Margot99></ref>

Tycho is a relatively young crater, with an estimated age of 108&nbsp;million years ([[Annum|Ma]]), based on analysis of samples of the crater ray recovered during the {{nobr|[[Apollo 17]]}} mission.<ref name=lro/> This age initially suggested that the impactor may have been a member of the [[Baptistina family]] of asteroids, but as the composition of the impactor is unknown this remained conjecture.<ref>

{{cite news

| publisher=[[Physorg]]

| access-date=2007-09-06

}}

</ref>

However, this possibility was ruled out by the [[Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer]] in 2011, as it was discovered that the Baptistina family was produced much later than expected, having formed approximately 80 million years ago.<ref>{{cite news |last=Plotner |first=Tammy |date=2015-12-24 |title=Did asteroid Baptistina kill the dinosaurs? Think other-WISE |website=[[Universe Today]] |url=https://www.universetoday.com/89050/did-asteroid-baptistina-kill-the-dinosaurs-think-other-wise/#more-89050}}</ref>

The crater is sharply defined, unlike older craters that have been degraded by subsequent impacts. The interior has a high [[albedo feature|albedo]] that is prominent when the Sun is overhead, and the crater is surrounded by a distinctive [[ray system]] forming long spokes that reach as long as 1,500&nbsp;kilometers. Sections of these rays can be observed even when Tycho is illuminated only by [[planetshine|earthlight]]. Due to its prominent rays, Tycho is mapped as part of the [[Copernican period|Copernican System]].<ref>{{cite report |author1=McCauley, John F. |author2=Trask, Newell J. |year=1987 |title=The Geologic History of the Moon |editor-link=Donald Wilhelms |editor=Wilhelms, D.E. |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |series=Professional Paper |volume=1348 |at=Plate&nbsp;11: Copernican system |url=https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1348 }}</ref>

Its inner wall is slumped and [[Terrace (geology)|terraced]], sloping down to a rough but nearly flat floor exhibiting small, knobby domes. The floor displays signs of past volcanism, most likely from rock melt caused by the impact. Detailed [[Astrophotography|photograph]]s of the floor show that it is covered in a criss-crossing array of cracks and small hills. The central peaks rise {{convert|1600|m|ft|sp=us}} above the floor, and a lesser peak stands just to the northeast of the primary [[massif]].

[[Image:Tycho Crater Panorama.jpg|thumb|Panoramic view of the lunar surface taken by {{nobr|[[Surveyor 7]],}} which landed about {{convert|29|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the rim of Tycho]]

The rim of this crater was chosen as the target of the {{nobr|[[Surveyor 7]]}} mission. The robotic spacecraft safely touched down north of the crater in January&nbsp;1968. The craft performed chemical measurements of the surface, finding a composition different from the maria. From this, one of the main components of the highlands was theorized to be [[anorthosite]], an [[aluminium]]-rich mineral. The crater was also imaged in great detail by {{nobr|[[Lunar Orbiter 5]].}}

This crater was drawn on lunar maps as early as 1645, when [[Antonius Maria Schyrleus de Rheita|A.M.S. de&nbsp;Rheita]] depicted the bright ray system.

== Names ==

Tycho is named after the Danish astronomer [[Tycho Brahe]].<ref name=gpn/> Like many of the craters on the Moon's near side, it was given its name by the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] astronomer [[Giovanni Battista Riccioli|G.B. Riccioli]], whose 1651 nomenclature system has become standardized.{{sfn|Whitaker|2003|pp=61}}<ref>[[:commons:File:Riccioli1651MoonMap.jpg|Riccioli map of the Moon (1651)]]</ref> Earlier lunar cartographers had given the feature different names. [[Pierre Gassendi]] named it Umbilicus Lunaris ('the [[navel]] of the Moon').{{sfn|Whitaker|2003|pp=33}} [[Michael van Langren|van&nbsp;Langren]]'s 1645 map calls it "Vladislai IV" after [[Władysław IV Vasa]], [[King of Poland]].{{sfn|Whitaker|2003|pp=198}}<ref>[[:commons:File:Langrenus map of the Moon 1645.jpg|Langren's map of the Moon (1645)]]</ref> And [[Johannes Hevelius]] named it 'Mons Sinai' after [[Mount Sinai]].<ref>[[:commons:File:Hevelius Map of the Moon 1647.jpg|Hevelius map of the Moon (1647)]]</ref>

== 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 Tycho.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

! Tycho

! class="unsortable" | Coordinates

! Diameter, km

|A

|{{Coord|39.94|S|12.07|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho A}}

|29

|B

|{{Coord|43.99|S|13.92|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho B}}

|14

|C

|{{Coord|44.12|S|13.46|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho C}}

|7

|D

|{{Coord|45.58|S|14.07|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho D}}

|26

|E

|{{Coord|42.34|S|13.66|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho E}}

|13

|F

|{{Coord|40.91|S|13.21|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho F}}

|17

|H

|{{Coord|45.29|S|15.92|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho H}}

|8

|J

|{{Coord|42.58|S|15.42|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho J}}

|11

|K

|{{Coord|45.18|S|14.38|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho K}}

|6

|P

|{{Coord|45.44|S|13.06|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho P}}

|7

|Q

|{{Coord|42.50|S|15.99|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho Q}}

|20

|R

|{{Coord|41.91|S|13.68|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho R}}

|4

|S

|{{Coord|43.47|S|16.30|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho S}}

|3

|T

|{{Coord|41.15|S|12.62|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho T}}

|14

|U

|{{Coord|41.08|S|13.91|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho U}}

|20

|V

|{{Coord|41.72|S|15.43|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho V}}

|4

|W

|{{Coord|43.30|S|15.38|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho W}}

|21

|X

|{{Coord|43.84|S|15.25|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho X}}

|12

|Y

|{{Coord|44.12|S|15.93|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho Y}}

|22

|-

|Z

|{{Coord|43.23|S|16.35|W|globe:moon|name=Tycho Z}}

|23

== Fictional references ==

* There is a chapter entitled "Tycho" in Jules Verne's ''[[Around the Moon]]'' ([[Around the Moon|''Autour de la Lune'']], 1870) which describes the crater and its ray system.

* In [[Robert A. Heinlein|R.A. Heinlein]]'s 1940 short story "[[Blowups Happen]]", a character speculates that Tycho may have been the location of a sentient race's main atomic power plant, in a past time when the Moon was still habitable—and that the plant exploded, causing the craters, the rays spreading from Tycho, and the death of all life on the Moon.

* [[Clifford Simak|C.D. Simak]] set his 1961 novelette ''The Trouble with Tycho'', at the lunar crater. He also postulated that the crater's rays were composed of volcanic glass ([[tektites]]) akin to a theory postulated by NASA researchers Dean Chapman and John O'Keefe in the 1970s.

* In [[Robert A. Heinlein|Heinlein]]'s 1966 book ''[[The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress]]'', Tycho is the location of the lunar habitat named "Tycho Under".

* Tycho was the location of the [[Tycho Magnetic Anomaly]] (TMA-1), and subsequent excavation of an alien monolith, in [[2001: A Space Odyssey (novel)|''2001: A Space Odyssey'']], the seminal 1968 science-fiction film by [[Stanley Kubrick]] and book by [[Arthur C. Clarke]].

* In the 1987 film ''[[Can't Buy Me Love (film)|Can't Buy Me Love]]'', Cindy notices Tycho while looking through a telescope on her final "contractual" date with Ronny in the Airplane Graveyard.

* It also serves as the location of "Tycho City" in the 1996 film ''[[Star Trek: First Contact]]''; a lunar metropolis by the 24th&nbsp;century.

* In [[Jack Williamson]]'s 2001 novel ''Terraforming Earth'', the crater is utilized for "Tycho Base", a self-sustaining, robot-controlled installation aimed at restoring life to the (dead) planet Earth after an asteroid sterilizes the biosphere.

* In the 2019 film [[Ad Astra (film)|''Ad Astra'']], the Moon base is situated in the Tycho crater. This is Roy's first stop on his journey to Mars.

* Crater Tycho figures prominently in the [[Matthew Looney]] and [[Maria Looney]] series of children's books set on the Moon, authored by [[Jerome Beatty]].

* In [[Roger Macbride Allen|R.M. Allen's]] ''Hunted Earth'' novels, the 'naked purples' own a former penal colony in or around Tycho crater known as "Tycho Purple Penal" (see ''[[The Ring of Charon]]'').

* Tycho is referenced in the band [[Cojum Dip]]'s song, Waltz in E&nbsp;Major, Op.&nbsp;15 "Moon Waltz".

* Tycho is referenced in the 2022 game ''[[Horizon Forbidden West]]'' as the site of a Helium-3 mine.

<gallery widths="230px" heights="220px" perrow="4">

Image:LRO Tycho Central Peak 0.25.jpg|Central peak complex of crater Tycho, taken at sunrise by the [[Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter]] in 2011.

File:Tycho crater 4119 h2.jpg|[[Lunar Orbiter 4]] image from 1967

File:Tycho crater floor 5125 h2.jpg|[[Lunar Orbiter 5]] image of the northeastern crater floor, showing irregular surface of cracked impact melt. Illumination is from lower right.

File:AS15-95-12997 contast enhanced.jpg|Tycho was not photographed up-close during the Apollo program, but [[Apollo 15]] captured this distant oblique view.

File:Radar_Image_of_Tycho_Crater_from_Jean-Luc_Margot%27s_PhD_work.png|Radar image of Tycho Crater.

==See also==

*[[1677 Tycho Brahe]], minor planet

*[[Tycho Brahe (Martian crater)]]

*[[Tycho's Nova]], bright supernova

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{{refend}}

==External links==

{{commons category|Tycho (lunar crater)}}

* {{cite web |title=Tycho |website=Moon Wiki |url=https://the-moon.us/wiki/Tycho}}

* {{cite AV media |author=Doran, Seán |title=Sunset on Tycho |website=[[flickr]] |medium=artificial video |quote=based on [[Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter|LRO]] data |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/136797589@N04/38721495941/ |url-access=subscription}}. For more, see {{cite AV media |title=album |website=[[flickr]] |medium=artificial images |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/136797589@N04/albums/72157686992929766/with/35498090194/ |url-access=subscription}}

* {{APOD |date=8 November 2003|title=Eclipsed Moon in Infrared}}

* {{APOD |date=5 March 2005|title=Tycho and Copernicus: Lunar Ray Craters}}

* {{APOD |date=4 January 2013|title=Sunrise at Tycho}}

* {{APOD |date=May 7, 2018|title=The Unusual Boulder at Tycho's Peak}}

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[[Category:Impact craters on the Moon]]

[[Category:Tycho Brahe]]