Coordinates | 22°43′S19°47′E / 22.71°S 19.79°E Coordinates: 22°43′S19°47′E / 22.71°S 19.79°E |
---|---|
Diameter | 37.77 km |
Depth | 2.0 km |
Colongitude | 20° at sunrise |
Eponym | Pierre de Fermat |
Fermat is a lunar impact crater located to the west of the Rupes Altai escarpment. To the west-southwest is the larger crater Sacrobosco, and to the southwest is the irregular Pons. It is 39 kilometers in diameter and two kilometers deep. [1]
The rim of Fermat is worn and somewhat irregular, but still possesses an outer rampart. The north rim is indented by a double crater formation that includes Fermat A. The floor is relatively flat and does not have a central rise. [2] The crater is from the Pre-Imbrian period, 4.55 to 3.85 billion years ago. [1]
It is named for 17th century French mathematician Pierre de Fermat. [3] [1]
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Fermat. [4]
Fermat | Coordinates | Diameter |
---|---|---|
A | 21°48′S19°36′E / 21.8°S 19.6°E | 17 km |
B | 23°00′S21°06′E / 23.0°S 21.1°E | 11 km |
C | 21°00′S18°30′E / 21.0°S 18.5°E | 14 km |
D | 20°06′S18°00′E / 20.1°S 18.0°E | 13 km |
E | 19°54′S19°54′E / 19.9°S 19.9°E | 7 km |
F | 22°06′S20°12′E / 22.1°S 20.2°E | 5 km |
G | 19°24′S20°00′E / 19.4°S 20.0°E | 7 km |
H | 23°06′S20°42′E / 23.1°S 20.7°E | 5 km |
P | 23°36′S19°18′E / 23.6°S 19.3°E | 37 km |
Zöllner is a lunar impact crater located to the west of Sinus Asperitatis. It was named after German astrophysicist and astronomer Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner. To the north is the smaller crater Alfraganus and to the northwest lies the oval-shaped Taylor. Southeast of Zöllner is the smaller crater Kant.
Euler is a lunar impact crater located in the southern half of the Mare Imbrium, and is named after the Swiss mathematician, physician and astronomer Leonhard Euler. The most notable nearby feature is Mons Vinogradov to the west-southwest. There is a cluster of low ridges to the southwest, and this formation includes the small crater Natasha and the tiny Jehan. About 200 kilometers to the east-northeast is the comparably sized crater Lambert.
Sacrobosco is an irregular lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged southern highlands to the west of the Rupes Altai escarpment. It is a readily identified feature due to the three circular craters that lie on its floor. The rim of Sacrobosco is heavily worn and eroded, especially in the northeast. The floor is relatively flat in the south, except where overlain by Sacrobosco A and B, but is somewhat irregular in the northeast.
Autolycus is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southeast part of Mare Imbrium. The crater is named after the ancient Greek astronomer Autolycus of Pitane. West of the formation is Archimedes, a formation more than double the size of Autolycus. Just to the north is Aristillus, and the outer ramparts of these two craters overlap in the intermediate stretch of the lunar mare.
Delambre is a lunar impact crater that lies to the southwest of Mare Tranquillitatis, in the central highland region. To the west is the crater pair of Theon Junior and Theon Senior, the latter being more distant and located to the northwest.
Heraclitus is a complex lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. The crater Licetus forms the northern end of the formation. Just to the east is Cuvier, and due south is Lilius. Just to the west of Heraclitus is the small satellite crater Heraclitus K, to the south of which is a pair of larger overlapping craters, Lilius E and Lilius D.
Appleton is a heavily eroded lunar impact crater that lies in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. To the northwest are the craters Von Neumann and Campbel. The smaller Golovin lies to the northeast, while further to the southwest is the Mare Moscoviense.
Barrow is an old lunar impact crater that is located near the northern limb of the Moon. It lies between the crater Goldschmidt to the northwest and the irregular formation Meton to the northeast. To the southwest is W. Bond.
Pons is a lunar impact crater that is located to the west of the prominent Rupes Altai scarp. It was named after French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons. It lies to the southeast of the crater Sacrobosco, and southwest of Polybius. To the northwest along the same flank of the formation is the crater Fermat.
Donati is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged south-central highlands of the Moon. It lies just to the northwest of the crater Faye, and the two outer rims are separated by a gap of less than 10 kilometers. To the north is the comparably sized Airy, and farther to the southeast is Playfair. Donati is 36 kilometers in diameter.
Calippus is a small lunar impact crater that is located on the eastern edge of the rugged Montes Caucasus mountain range in the northern part of the Moon. It was named after Greek astronomer Callippus of Cyzicus. It lies to the southwest of the crater remnant Alexander, to the northwest of the Mare Serenitatis.
Fontenelle is a lunar impact crater that is located along the northern edge of Mare Frigoris, in the northern part of the Moon. To the northeast is the remnant of the crater Birmingham. Due to its location, this crater appears oval in shape when observed from the Earth because of foreshortening.
Curtius is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern part of the Moon. From the Earth the crater appears foreshortened, making it more difficult to observe detail. Nevertheless, this is a large crater that can be readily found in even small telescopes. Curtius is located within one crater diameter of the still-larger Moretus to the southwest. To the northeast is the smaller Pentland. Curtius is 95 kilometers in diameter and 6.8 kilometers deep. It is from the Nectarian period, 3.92 to 3.85 billion years ago.
Hypatia is a lunar impact crater along the northwest edge of Sinus Asperitatis, a bay on the southwest edge of Mare Tranquillitatis. It was named after Egyptian mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria. The nearest crater with an eponym is Alfraganus to the west-southwest. However, farther to the south-southeast, across the lunar mare, is the prominent crater Theophilus.
Fermi is a large lunar impact crater of the category named a walled plain. It was named after Italian-American physicist and Nobel laureate Enrico Fermi. It lies on the far side of the Moon and can not be viewed from the Earth. Thus this feature must be viewed from an orbiting spacecraft.
Chebyshev is a large lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. The somewhat smaller crater Langmuir is intruding into the east-southeastern rim of Chebyshev, forming a chain of large craters with Brouwer on Langmuir's eastern rim.
Chrétien is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon from the Earth. It lies due south of the Mare Ingenii, one of the few maria on the Moon's far side. The crater lies in the midpoint between the craters Garavito to the west-southwest and Oresme to the east-northeast, both of these being somewhat smaller than Chrétien.
Campbell is a large lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the walled plain D'Alembert, an even larger formation. If Campbell were located on the near side of the Moon as seen from the Earth, it would form one of the largest visible craters, being slightly larger than Schickard. It is bordered by several craters of note, with Wiener to the southwest, Von Neumann just to the south, Ley overlying the southeast rim, and Pawsey to the west.
Lindenau is a lunar impact crater. It is located beside the east-southeastern rim of the crater Zagut, and to the northeast of Rabbi Levi. To the northeast is the slightly smaller crater Rothmann and the Rupes Altai scarp. It is 53 kilometers in diameter and 2.9 kilometers deep.
Ibn Firnas is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. In 1976 it was named after Abbas Ibn Firnas, a polymath from Andalucia who, in the 9th century, devised a chain of rings that could be used to simulate the motions of the planets and stars.