Coordinates | 16°10′S167°38′E / 16.17°S 167.64°E |
---|---|
Diameter | 126.06 km (78.33 mi) |
Depth | 4.0 km (2.5 mi) [1] [2] |
Colongitude | 192° at sunrise |
Eponym | Fritz Zwicky (astronomer) |
Zwicky is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the west of the crater Aitken, and is attached to the western rim of Vertregt. Attached to the northern end of Zwicky is Heaviside. Zwicky is a considerably eroded formation with an irregular rim and interior. Portions of the southern rim still survive, but the remainder has been almost completely eradicated.
The satellite crater Zwicky N, located in the midst of the interior of Zwicky, has a relatively dark floor by comparison with the surrounding terrain. This smaller crater has a polygonal outline with relatively smooth inner walls. The interior floor is a lower albedo material that has a fractured surface. [3] It is thought that this is caused by the cooling of molten material, or possibly tectonic movement. This is referred to informally as a "turtleback crater floor".
The crater was named in 1974 by the IAU [4] after astronomer Fritz Zwicky (1898–1974), a professor at Caltech, Pasadena, and pioneer in the study of supernovae and of galaxy clusters. The minor planet 1803 Zwicky is also named in his honour. [5]
Zwicky crater was known as Crater 306 prior to naming. [6]
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Zwicky. Zwicky N crater had the proposed name of Ibn Hayyan, [1] [2] but this was not approved by the IAU.
Zwicky | Coordinates | Diameter, km |
---|---|---|
N | 15°55′S167°34′E / 15.92°S 167.57°E | 29.6 |
R | 18°08′S163°35′E / 18.13°S 163.59°E | 29.0 |
S | 16°05′S162°47′E / 16.09°S 162.79°E | 45.6 |
Avery is a small lunar impact crater located near the eastern limb of the Moon. This is a circular, bowl-shaped formation with a small interior floor. It lies near the western edge of Mare Smythii. To the east is the crater Haldane, and to the southwest is Carrillo. Gilbert lies to the southwest.
Cauchy is a small lunar impact crater on the eastern Mare Tranquillitatis. It was named after French mathematician Augustin-Louis Cauchy. It is circular and symmetric, with a small interior floor at the midpoint of the sloping inner walls. Due to the high albedo of this bowl-shaped formation, it is particularly prominent at full Moon.
Heaviside is a large lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It is attached to the eastern rim of the equally large walled plain Keeler, although Keeler is somewhat less eroded. To the northwest lies the crater Stratton, and to the southeast is the prominent Aitken.
Lyell is a lunar impact crater that lies along the eastern edge of the Mare Tranquillitatis, at the northern arm of the bay designated Sinus Concordiae. It was named after Scottish geologist Charles Lyell. To the north along the edge of the lunar mare is the crater Franz. The region of terrain to the east of Lyell is named Palus Somni.
Zhiritskiy is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the south of the large walled plain Fermi, and northwest of the crater Schaeberle.
Haldane is a lunar impact crater that is located in Mare Smythii, near the eastern limb of the Moon. The visibility of this formation is affected by libration, and even under favorable conditions it is highly foreshortened. It lies just to the west-northwest of the crater Runge, and to the east of Carrillo. The small crater Talbot is immediately to the southwest of Haldane.
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.
La Pérouse is a lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. It lies northwest of the larger crater Ansgarius, and to the east of Kapteyn. This crater appears foreshortened due to its location, but the rim is nearly circular when viewed from orbit.
Talbot is a small lunar impact crater on the Mare Smythii, near the eastern limb of the Moon. It lies between a pair of larger, flooded craters, with Runge to the west and Haldane to the west-northwest. The crater is entirely surrounded by the dark lunar mare. It is a circular, bowl-shaped formation with an almost featureless interior floor. The outer rim has a slightly higher albedo than the surrounding terrain, but the floor is as dark as the mare.
Warner is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern part of the Mare Smythii, near the eastern limb of the Moon. In this location the crater is viewed almost from the edge from Earth, and is sometimes hidden from sight due to libration. The crater lies just to the south-southeast of the very similar Runge. To the southwest is Widmannstätten, and to the south is the merged Kao–Helmert crater pair.
Ibn Firnas is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. Attached to the exterior of its southwestern rim is the prominent crater King. Only a few kilometers to the north, separated by a rugged stretch of terrain, is the larger crater Ostwald.
Danjon is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies less than a crater diameter to the east-southeast of the larger crater Langemak. To the east-northeast of Danjon is the crater Perepelkin, and due south lies the walled plain Fermi.
D'Arsonval is a small lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is situated across the northeastern rim of the older and larger crater Danjon. To the west of D'Arsonval is Perepelkin.
Delporte is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It overlies part of the northwestern rim of the huge walled plain Fermi, and the crater Litke is nearly attached to the southeastern rim.
Dobrovolʹskiy is a small lunar impact crater on the Moon's far side. The northwest part of its rim is intruded upon by the somewhat larger crater Shirakatsi, and the outer rampart of that feature covers most of the interior floor of Dobrovolʹskiy. Very little of the original floor now survives, with a small section near the southern inner wall. The remainder of the crater rim is somewhat circular and only mildly worn.
Litke is a lunar impact crater that lies within the large walled plain Fermi, near the north-northwestern inner rim. Less than one crater diameter to the west-northwest is the slightly larger Delporte. Litke is located on the far side of the Moon and cannot be viewed directly from the Earth.
Neujmin is a lunar impact crater on the Moon's far side. It is nearly attached to the west-southwest of the smaller crater Waterman, and lies to the southwest of the prominent Tsiolkovskiy.
Shirakatsi is an impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side. It is attached to the southern exterior rim of the larger crater Perepelkin, and overlies the northwestern rim of Dobrovol'skiy.
Langemak is a prominent impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located less than one crater diameter west-northwest of Danjon, and nearly due east of Meitner. To the southwest of Langemak is Kondratyuk. Langemak partly overlies the larger and older crater Langemak N. This feature is also attached to the northeastern rim of Kondratyuk.
Waterman is a lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side, and cannot be viewed directly from the Earth. It lies along the southern outer ramparts of the prominent crater Tsiolkovskiy. Almost attached to the southwest is Neujmin, so that Waterman lies straddled between these two features.