Necho is a

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

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 ...

on the

far side ''The Far Side'' is a single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Chronicle Features and then Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from December 31, 1979, to January 1, 1995 (when Larson retired as a cartoonist). Its surrealis ...

of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

, and therefore cannot be seen directly from the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. It lies to the northeast of the larger crater Langemak, about a crater diameter to the south-southwest of Bečvář and further east is

Love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...

Description

The most distinctive aspect of this crater is the prominent

ray system In planetary geology, a ray system comprises radial streaks of fine '' ejecta'' thrown out during the formation of an impact crater, looking somewhat like many thin spokes coming from the hub of a wheel. The rays may extend for lengths up to ...

that surrounds the outer rim. This higher-

albedo Albedo ( ; ) is the fraction of sunlight that is Diffuse reflection, diffusely reflected by a body. It is measured on a scale from 0 (corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation) to 1 (corresponding to a body that reflects ...

skirt of ejecta extends in a nearly continuous fashion out for several crater diameters, but is more extensive to the north and northeast than elsewhere. Beyond this continuous skirt, occasional rays and wisps of light material extend outwards for many more crater diameters. Due to its prominent rays and generally very fresh appearance, Necho is mapped as part of the Copernican System. The mid-east and the middle part of the crater are mostly rough containing several hills. The outer rim of Necho is somewhat uneven in form, particularly along the western side where it possesses two inner sides that overlap in almost spiral-like fashion. The rim has a slight outward bulge to the east, and is more uneven along that edge. The inner wall and floor has a high

, giving the crater a bright appearance. The inner side is generally wider on the western side, and the interior floor is offset to the eastern half.

Naming

The crater is named after

Necho II Necho II (sometimes Nekau, Neku, Nechoh, or Nikuu; Greek: Νεκώς Β'; ) of Egypt was a king of the 26th Dynasty (610–595 BC), which ruled from Sais. Necho undertook a number of construction projects across his kingdom. In his reign, accor ...

, the king of the Egyptian

26th Dynasty The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXVI, alternatively 26th Dynasty or Dynasty 26) was the last native dynasty of ancient Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC (although other brief periods of rule by Egyptians followed). T ...

. The crater was informally called "the Bright One" by the

Apollo 14 Apollo 14 (January 31February 9, 1971) was the eighth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, the third to Moon landing, land on the Moon, and the first to land in the Geology of the Moon#Highlands, lunar highlands. It was the las ...

crew. It was not formally named until 1976 by the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

. Necho lies at the south edge of an unnamed, highly subdued, 200 km diameter crater which was originally discovered during the

Apollo 16 Apollo 16 (April 1627, 1972) was the tenth human spaceflight, crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, Apollo space program, administered by NASA, and the fifth and penultimate to Moon landing, land on the Moon. It was the second o ...

mission and reported by

Farouk El-Baz Farouk El-Baz (, ''Pronunciation'': ) (born January 2, 1938) is an Egyptian American space scientist and geologist, who worked with NASA in the scientific exploration of the Moon and the planning of the Apollo program. He was a leading geologist ...

. The name ''Necho'' was proposed for the unnamed crater, but the name was eventually adopted for this smaller crater.Apollo 16 Preliminary Science Report
(NASA SP-315), 1972, Chapter 29, Part H: ''Discovery of Two Lunar Features''

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 Necho.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Necho at The Moon Wiki

high-resolution photo of the interior
from Apollo 14 (AS14-72-9975) at L&PI
LTO-83B4 Necho
— L&PI

topographic map In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but histori ...

.
83B4S1(50) Necho Crater
— L&PI Lunar Topophotomap Series, Scale: 1:50,000. * Apollo 17 panoramic camera images with Necho near center
AS17-P-2461AS17-P-2463AS17-P-2466AS17-P-2468
*LRO articles:

Necho Crater in 2009

* * {{cite web, last = Wood , first = Chuck, date = August 26, 2009 , url = http://lpod.wikispaces.com/August+26%2C+2009 , title = Abusing Rocks , publisher = Lunar Photo of the Day Impact craters on the Moon