Fizeau (crater)
Encyclopedia
Fizeau is a prominent lunar
impact crater
that is located on the far side of the Moon
, in the southern hemisphere
. Nearby craters of note include Minkowski
to the west-northwest, and Eijkman
to the southwest.
The inner wall of the crater rim is multiply terraced in the northern half, while the southern rim has a shear inner surface leading down to slumped deposits on the crater floor. There is a small but prominent crater lying across the southwest rim, with an inner surface that forms terraced steps covering most of the interior. There are also smaller craterlets on the rim to the northeast and west-southwest.
The interior of Fizeau is relatively flat beyond the terraces, with only a few low rises in the northwest section of the crater and a central peak near the mid-point. Only a few tiny craterlets are located on the floor.
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...
impact 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 is located on the far side 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...
, 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...
. Nearby craters of note include Minkowski
Minkowski (crater)
Minkowski is a lunar crater on the far side of the Moon, in the lower latitudes of the southern hemisphere. It lies about one crater diameter to the north-northeast of Lemaître, a formation of similar dimension...
to the west-northwest, and Eijkman
Eijkman (crater)
Eijkman is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon's southern hemisphere. It lies about a half crater diameter to the southeast of the larger crater Lemaître. To the south-southwest is the crater Crommelin, and to the northeast is Fizeau.The rim of this crater is...
to the southwest.
The inner wall of the crater rim is multiply terraced in the northern half, while the southern rim has a shear inner surface leading down to slumped deposits on the crater floor. There is a small but prominent crater lying across the southwest rim, with an inner surface that forms terraced steps covering most of the interior. There are also smaller craterlets on the rim to the northeast and west-southwest.
The interior of Fizeau is relatively flat beyond the terraces, with only a few low rises in the northwest section of the crater and a central peak near the mid-point. Only a few tiny craterlets are located on the floor.
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 Fizeau.| Fizeau | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | 56.1° S | 128.5° W | 22 km |
| F | 58.2° S | 124.5° W | 19 km |
| G | 59.2° S | 124.5° W | 54 km |
| Q | 59.8° S | 136.3° W | 28 km |
| S | 58.7° S | 139.9° W | 62 km |