Mitra is a
lunar impact crater
An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...
that is attached to the western outer rim of the larger crater
Mach
The Mach number (M or Ma), often only Mach, (; ) is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a Boundary (thermodynamic), boundary to the local speed of sound.
It is named after the Austrian physi ...
, on the
far side of the Moon
The far side of the Moon is the hemisphere of the Moon that is facing away from Earth, the opposite hemisphere is the near side. It always has the same surface oriented away from Earth because of synchronous rotation in the Moon's orbit. C ...
. Just to the west of Mitra is
Bredikhin, and to the south-southeast lies
Henyey. It is named after
Sisir Kumar Mitra, who was an Indian
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
and
Padma Bhushan award recipient known for his pioneering work in the field of
ionosphere
The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...
and
radiophysics.
This is a heavily eroded formation with an outer rim that has been damaged by subsequent impacts. Attached to the exterior along the southeast is the satellite crater Mitra J. A number of smaller impacts lie along the rim edge, and very little of the original rim remains intact. Within the interior, a smaller crater occupies the southwestern part of the floor, and a small, cup-shaped crater lies across the northeast rim of this formation and very close to the midpoint of Mitra. The remaining floor is marked only by a few small and tiny craterlets.
Mitra lies within the
Dirichlet–Jackson Basin.
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 Mitra.
See also
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Bose (crater)
References
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Impact craters on the Moon