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Kirkwood (crater)
Encyclopedia
Kirkwood is a well-formed lunar
impact crater
that is located on the far side of the Moon
, on the northern hemisphere
. It lies just to the northeast of the crater Sommerfeld
, and Hippocrates
is located to the east-northeast.
The perimeter of this crater is generally circular, with a few slight outward notches particularly to the southeast. It displays very little appearance of wear, and neither the interior nor the outer rampart are marked by any craters of note.
The inner wall has slumped somewhat, and has formed a few terrace-like structures. The interior ejecta spreads a good way across the inner floor, covering nearly half the diameter. At the mid-point appear several small hills producing a central peak formation.
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...
, on the northern 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...
. It lies just to the northeast of the crater Sommerfeld
Sommerfeld (crater)
Sommerfeld is a large lunar crater that is located in the far northern latitudes of the Moon. It lies on the far side, and can only be viewed from orbit. To the south of Sommerfeld is Rowland, a crater about the same size as Sommerfeld...
, and Hippocrates
Hippocrates (lunar crater)
Hippocrates is a lunar crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located in the northern region of the lunar surface, to the north of the crater Stebbins. To the southwest of Hippocrates are Kirkwood and the large Sommerfeld....
is located to the east-northeast.
The perimeter of this crater is generally circular, with a few slight outward notches particularly to the southeast. It displays very little appearance of wear, and neither the interior nor the outer rampart are marked by any craters of note.
The inner wall has slumped somewhat, and has formed a few terrace-like structures. The interior ejecta spreads a good way across the inner floor, covering nearly half the diameter. At the mid-point appear several small hills producing a central peak formation.
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 Kirkwood.| Kirkwood | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| T | 69.4° N | 165.2° W | 19 km |
| Y | 72.2° N | 157.5° W | 19 km |