Soddy (crater)

Last updated
Soddy
Normal soddy.jpg
LRO image
Coordinates 0°24′N121°48′E / 0.4°N 121.8°E / 0.4; 121.8 Coordinates: 0°24′N121°48′E / 0.4°N 121.8°E / 0.4; 121.8
Diameter 42 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 239° at sunrise
Eponym Frederick Soddy
Apollo 16 image Soddy crater AS16-M-3001.jpg
Apollo 16 image

Soddy is an eroded lunar impact crater lying on the far side of the Moon, invisible from the Earth, to the south-southeast of the prominent crater King. Material from the ray system surrounding King covers the sides and interior of Soddy. Less than one crater diameter to the west of Soddy is the smaller Heron.

Contents

The crater is named after the British physicist Frederick Soddy who was also a Nobel laureate. [1]

This crater has been heavily worn and eroded, so that only a remnant of a crater depression survives. There are small craterlets along the rim edge to the southwest and southeast. The interior is uneven and almost indistinguishable from the surrounding terrain.

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 Soddy.

SoddyLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
E0.8° N123.4° E16 km
G0.5° N123.5° E13 km
P0.4° S120.9° E8 km
Q0.5° S120.2° E24 km

Related Research Articles

Cantor (crater)

Cantor is a lunar impact crater that is located on the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. The outer rim of the crater has a distinctly hexagonal shape, and is slightly longer in the north–south direction. The interior walls are multiply terraced, although less so along the western rim. There is a low central peak at the midpoint of the floor.

Beer (lunar crater) Lunar impact crater

Beer is a relatively small lunar impact crater located on the Mare Imbrium, to the east of the crater Timocharis. It was named after German astronomer Wilhelm W. Beer. Just to the northwest is the matching twin Feuillée.

Anderson (crater) Lunar impact crater

Anderson is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the northwest of the crater Sharonov, and the satellite crater Sharanov X is attached to the southeast rim of Anderson. To the northeast is the peculiar formation Buys-Ballot, and to the east-southeast lies the larger crater Spencer Jones.

De Gasparis (crater)

de Gasparis is a lunar crater that is located in the southwest part of the Moon. It lies to the southeast of the crater Cavendish and south of Mersenius.

Anděl (crater)

Anděl is a lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged central highlands of the Moon. It was named after the Czech astronomer Karel Anděl. Nearby craters of note include Abulfeda to the south-southeast and Descartes to the east-southeast. About 85 kilometres to the east-northeast of the outer rim is the landing site of the Apollo 16 mission.

Barocius (crater) Lunar impact crater

Barocius is an ancient lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. It was named after Italian mathematician Francesco Barozzi. It lies just to the southeast of the large crater Maurolycus. To the southwest of Barocius is Clairaut, and to the south-southeast lies Breislak.

Asclepi (crater)

Asclepi is a heavily eroded lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. The outer rim has been worn down and rounded by many millions of years of subsequent impacts, so that it is now nearly level with the surrounding terrain. As a result, the crater is now little more than a depression in the surface. The interior is nearly flat and relatively featureless.

Boss (crater) Lunar impact crater

Boss is a lunar impact crater that is located along the northeast rim of the Moon's near side. Due to its location, the crater is viewed from the side by observers on the Earth, and its visibility is subject to libration effects.

Baco (crater) Lunar impact crater

Baco is a lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged southern highlands on the near side of the Moon. The rim and inner wall has been eroded and worn by countless minor impacts since the original formation of the crater. As a result, any terraces have been worn smooth and the rim is overlaid by several tiny craterlets. The interior floor is nearly flat, with no characteristic central peak at the midpoint and no small craters of significance.

Boltzmann (crater) Lunar impact crater

Boltzmann is an old lunar impact crater that is located along the southern limb of the Moon, in the vicinity of the south pole. At this location the crater is viewed from the side from Earth, and so not much detail can be seen. It is located to the north of the walled plain Drygalski, and to the west of the crater Le Gentil.

Birkeland (lunar crater) Lunar impact crater

Birkeland is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. This crater is attached to the central waist of the oddly shaped Van de Graaff crater formation, and may partly account for that crater's figure-8 shape. To the southeast is the large walled plain Leibnitz.

Condorcet (crater) Lunar impact crater

Condorcet is a lunar impact crater that is located in the eastern part of the Moon's near side, to the southeast of the Mare Crisium. It was named after French mathematician Marquis de Condorcet. To the northeast of Condorcet are the craters Hansen and Alhazen.

Cannon (crater) Lunar impact crater

Cannon is a lunar impact crater that is located near the east-northeastern limb of the Moon's near side. It lies just to the northwest of the Mare Marginis, and south-southeast of the crater Plutarch. Farther to the east-northeast is Hubble.

Drude (crater)

Drude is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, in the rugged Montes Cordillera range that forms the outer ring around the Mare Orientale impact basin. It is located just behind the west-southwest limb, and this area is sometimes brought into sight from Earth during favorable librations. However, even at such times, the crater is viewed from the edge and little detail can be seen.

Charlier (lunar crater) Lunar impact crater

Charlier is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. To the south-southeast is the larger crater Kovalevskaya, and northeast of Charlier is Perrine.

Comstock (crater) Lunar impact crater

Comstock is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the northeast of the walled plain Fersman, and north of the crater Weyl.

Cockcroft (crater) Lunar impact crater

Cockcroft is a lunar impact crater that is situated on the far side of the Moon from the Earth, so that it has only been observed and photographed from orbit. It lies to the northeast of the larger crater Fitzgerald, and southeast of Evershed.

Dellinger (crater)

Dellinger is a lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side. It is attached to the southern rim of the crater Pannekoek. To the southeast lies the crater Marconi, and to the southwest is Chauvenet.

Foster is a small lunar impact crater that lies to the southeast of the larger crater Joule, on the far side of the Moon. The rim of Foster is slightly eroded, and the narrow inner walls slope directly down to the relatively dark interior floor. The rim has a small outward bulge along the southwest side. There is a small craterlet on the floor next to the northern rim. A tiny impact in the southeast part of the crater interior is surrounded by a small skirt of high albedo material, producing a bright patch.

Freundlich (crater)

Freundlich is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies midway between the craters Trumpler to the north-northwest and the irregular Buys-Ballot to the south-southeast. This crater has a circular rim that is more heavily eroded at the northern and southern ends. Groups of craters lie across the floor to the southeast and the north, and individual small craters lie elsewhere within the interior. The crater is named after Erwin Freundlich.

References

  1. "Soddy (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.