Foucault (crater)
Encyclopedia
Foucault is a small lunar
impact crater
that lies along the southern edge of Mare Frigoris
, to the southeast of the crater Harpalus
. In the rugged terrain to the south of Foucault is Sharp
. The outer perimeter of Foucault forms a somewhat irregular circle, with slight outward bulges to the south and northeast. The inner wall of the rim is not notably terraced, and slopes down directly to the uneven floor. It is named after physicist Leon Foucault
, most famous for the Foucault pendulum
.
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 lies along the southern edge of Mare Frigoris
Mare Frigoris
Mare Frigoris is a lunar mare located just north of Mare Imbrium, and stretches east to north of Mare Serenitatis. The mare is in the outer rings of the Procellarum basin...
, to the southeast of the crater Harpalus
Harpalus (crater)
Harpalus is a young lunar impact crater that lies on the Mare Frigoris, at the eastern edge of the Sinus Roris. To the southeast at the edge of the mare is the small crater Foucault, and to the northwest on the opposite edge is the walled plain named South....
. In the rugged terrain to the south of Foucault is Sharp
Sharp (crater)
Sharp is a lunar impact crater located to the west of the Sinus Iridum bay of the Mare Imbrium, beyond the Montes Jura range. To the southwest is the crater Mairan. Because of its location and foreshortening, Sharp appears elliptical whereas the crater rim is actually circular.Sharp is surrounded...
. The outer perimeter of Foucault forms a somewhat irregular circle, with slight outward bulges to the south and northeast. The inner wall of the rim is not notably terraced, and slopes down directly to the uneven floor. It is named after physicist Leon Foucault
Léon Foucault
Jean Bernard Léon Foucault was a French physicist best known for the invention of the Foucault pendulum, a device demonstrating the effect of the Earth's rotation...
, most famous for the Foucault pendulum
Foucault pendulum
The Foucault pendulum , or Foucault's pendulum, named after the French physicist Léon Foucault, is a simple device conceived as an experiment to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth. While it had long been known that the Earth rotated, the introduction of the Foucault pendulum in 1851 was the...
.