Clark (lunar crater)
Encyclopedia
Clark is a lunar
crater
that lies in the southern hemisphere
of the Moon
's far side. It is located midway between the larger walled plain Van der Waals
to the south and the similar-sized crater Pizzetti
to the north. It is named for American astronomer and telescope maker Alvan Clark
and his son Alvan Graham Clark.
Clark has a narrow inner wall, and thus a wide interior floor. The rim is roughly circular, but eroded in places. A small crater lies across the southern rim, and a tiny pair are located along the northeastern crest. There is a slight outward bulge along the wall along the west-southwestern side. The crater floor is marked by a number of tiny craterlets but otherwise relatively featureless, having no central peak.
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
crater
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
that lies in the southern hemisphere
Sphere
A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point...
of the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
's far side. It is located midway between the larger walled plain Van der Waals
Van der Waals (crater)
Van der Waals is a lunar crater on the far side of the Moon. It is a heavily eroded feature with an irregular outer rim. The edge is lowest along the southern side where it is little more than a circular crest along the ground. It is more developed along the northern side, but the rim is notched...
to the south and the similar-sized crater Pizzetti
Pizzetti (crater)
Pizzetti is a partly eroded lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It is located due north of the similar-dimensioned Clark, and to the southeast of the large walled plain Milne. Nearly attached to the western rim is the small Tyndall...
to the north. It is named for American astronomer and telescope maker Alvan Clark
Alvan Clark
Alvan Clark , born in Ashfield, Massachusetts, the descendant of a Cape Cod whaling family of English ancestry, was an American astronomer and telescope maker. He was a portrait painter and engraver , and at the age of 40 became involved in telescope making...
and his son Alvan Graham Clark.
Clark has a narrow inner wall, and thus a wide interior floor. The rim is roughly circular, but eroded in places. A small crater lies across the southern rim, and a tiny pair are located along the northeastern crest. There is a slight outward bulge along the wall along the west-southwestern side. The crater floor is marked by a number of tiny craterlets but otherwise relatively featureless, having no central peak.
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Clark.| Clark | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| F | 38.4° S | 122.5° E | 27 km |