LRO WAC image | |
Coordinates | 17°06′S123°30′W / 17.1°S 123.5°W Coordinates: 17°06′S123°30′W / 17.1°S 123.5°W |
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Diameter | 71 km |
Depth | Unknown |
Colongitude | 125° at sunrise |
Eponym | J.-C. Houzeau |
Houzeau is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the northwest of the Mare Orientale impact basin, and ejecta from that event has fallen across this crater rim and its interior. To the south of Houzeau lies the crater Gerasimovich, and one crater diameter to the west is Belopol'skiy. To the northwest lies Fridman, with Ioffe to its southwest.
Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, almost all of which were formed by impacts.
An impact crater is an approximately circular depression in the surface of a planet, moon, or other solid body in the Solar System or elsewhere, formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller body. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters typically have raised rims and floors that are lower in elevation than the surrounding terrain. Impact craters range from small, simple, bowl-shaped depressions to large, complex, multi-ringed impact basins. Meteor Crater is a well-known example of a small impact crater on Earth.
Earth's Moon is an astronomical body that orbits the planet and acts as its only permanent natural satellite. It is the fifth-largest satellite in the Solar System, and the largest among planetary satellites relative to the size of the planet that it orbits. The Moon is, after Jupiter's satellite Io, the second-densest satellite in the Solar System among those whose densities are known.
The perimeter of this crater forms a slightly irregular circle, with an outward bulge along the northern side and smaller bulges to the west. The satellite craters Houzeau P and Houzeau Q are attached to the southern exterior. Along the eastern edge is a small crater along the rim. A few tiny craterlets lie within the somewhat irregular interior.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Houzeau.
Houzeau | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
P | 19.7° S | 125.0° W | 25 km |
Q | 19.0° S | 124.7° W | 18 km |
Meggers is an impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon. It was named after American physicist William F. Meggers.
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.
Baillaud is a lunar impact crater that is located near the north limb of the Moon. The rim of the crater has been eroded and worn by a long history of impacts, leaving a hilly ridge surrounding the interior. The crater Euctemon is intruding into the rim to the northeast, and the rim bulges outward to the northwest. At the south end of the crater is a gap connecting to the lava-flooded surface to the south.
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.
Dawson is a lunar impact crater that lies on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies across a crater triplet: the southeast rim is intruding into the crater Alekhin; the northwest rim also intrudes into the larger satellite crater Dawson V, and the northeast rim is attached to the comparably sized Dawson D. To the south of this formation is the large crater Zeeman. West of Dawson is the crater Crommelin, and to the north lies Fizeau.
Chamberlin is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just past the southeastern limb. It lies to the southeast of the crater Jeans, and Moulton is attached to the southeastern rim of Chamberlin. This crater is located in a part of the lunar surface that has undergone resurfacing of crater interiors, producing dark-hued crater floors.
Baldet is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies in the lava-flooded region between the craters Cori to the north, Stoney to the southwest, and the worn walled plain Minkowski to the southeast.
Blazhko is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the northwest of the crater Joule, and to the south of Gadomski. The fresh, bright crater Wargo is to the south.
Mercurius is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon. It lies to the northeast of the smaller crater Carrington, and west-northwest of Zeno. Just to the south is the small lunar mare named Lacus Spei, and to the west is the larger Lacus Temporis.
Pitiscus is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southern part of the Moon's near side, just to the northwest of the larger crater Hommel. It was named after German mathematician Bartholomaeus Pitiscus. The crater is worn, but still forms a prominent feature upon the surface. The rim is roughly circular, but appears oval from the Earth due to foreshortening. There is an outward bulge to the south-southeast where the interior has slumped. The remainder of the inner wall still displays terraces, although they are worn and rounded due to erosion.
Haidinger is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southwestern part of the Moon. It was named after Austrian geologist Wilhelm von Haidinger. Just to the southwest of the crater is the small lunar mare named Lacus Timoris. Haidinger lies northwest of the crater Wilhelm and east of the irregular formation Hainzel.
Chant is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, behind the southwest limb as seen from the Earth. It lies within the southwestern part of the blanket of ejecta surrounding the Mare Orientale, beyond the Montes Cordillera mountain ring. To the west-northwest is the large walled plain Blackett. Southward is the crater Mendel.
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.
Clairaut is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon's near side. It lies directly to the south of the crater Maurolycus and southeast of Barocius. Just to the southwest is Cuvier.
Coriolis is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. The crater floor is bisected by the lunar equator, and it lies about three crater diameters northwest of the crater Daedalus.
Douglass is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the crater Frost and south-southwest of the large walled plain Landau.
Espin is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the northeastern limb. It lies to the west-southwest of the larger crater Seyfert, and northwest of Deutsch.
Fersman is a large lunar impact crater on the Moon's far side. It lies to the east of the crater Poynting, and west-northwest of Weyl. To the south is the huge walled plain Hertzsprung.
Gerasimovich is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies beyond the western limb, to the west-northwest of the immense Mare Orientale impact basin. The outer blanket of ejecta from this impact reaches nearly to the rim of Gerasimovich. Nearby craters of note include Houzeau to the north and the smaller Ellerman to the southeast.
Ewen Adair Whitaker was a British-born astronomer who specialized in lunar studies. During World War II he was engaged in quality control for the lead sheathing of hollow cables strung under the English Channel as part of the "Pipe Line Under The Ocean" Project (PLUTO) to supply gasoline to Allied military vehicles in France. After the war, he obtained a position at the Royal Greenwich Observatory working on the UV spectra of stars, but became interested in lunar studies. As a sideline, Whitaker drew and published the first accurate chart of the South Polar area of the Moon in 1954, and served as director of the Lunar Section of the British Astronomical Association.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The USGS is a fact-finding research organization with no regulatory responsibility.