Richardson (lunar crater)
Encyclopedia
Richardson is a large lunar
crater
located on the Moon
's far side, just behind the eastern limb. It lies to the south of the huge walled plain Harkhebi
, and to the east-southeast of the crater Vestine
. Just to the northeast is Szilard
, and to the southeast is Artamonov
.
A substantial portion of the crater is overlain by Maxwell
, which lies across the rim to the southwest. The northeastern rim of Maxwell reaches the approximate mid-point of Richardson, and together with the outer rampart covers nearly half the interior floor. The remainder of the rim of Richardson is worn and eroded, with Richardson W intruding into the northwestern rim and Richardson E lying along the eastern side.
The surviving interior floor of Richardson is relatively level, but marked with a number of small craterlets. The rim and interior floor is covered by a number of wispy deposits from the Giordano Bruno
impact, located just to the north-northeast.
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...
located on 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, just behind the eastern limb. It lies to the south of the huge walled plain Harkhebi
Harkhebi (crater)
Harkhebi is a large lunar crater of the category termed a walled plain. Half of the crater to the north-northwest is overlain by the walled plain Fabry, a large formation in its own right. Attached to the northwestern rim is the much smaller crater Vashakidze...
, and to the east-southeast of the crater Vestine
Vestine (crater)
Vestine is a heavily eroded impact crater on the Moon's far side, just beyond the northeastern limb. It lies to the southwest of the large walled plain Harkhebi, and to the northwest of the Maxwell–Richardson crater pair....
. Just to the northeast is Szilard
Szilard (crater)
Szilard is a damaged lunar crater that lies to the east-northeast of the crater Richardson. It is named after Leo Szilard, the scientist who theorised nuclear chain reactions and famously worked on the atomic bomb during WWII. About a half-crater-diameter to the northwest is the large walled plain...
, and to the southeast is Artamonov
Artamonov (crater)
Artamonov is a lunar crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. The eroded outer rim of Artamonov does not have the circular shape of most lunar craters, and instead has the overall shape of three or four merged craters...
.
A substantial portion of the crater is overlain by Maxwell
Maxwell (crater)
Maxwell is a crater on the far side of the Moon named after the physicist James C. Maxwell. It lies in the southwestern part of the larger crater Richardson. The southern part of Maxwell is overlain in turn by the partly flooded Lomonosov...
, which lies across the rim to the southwest. The northeastern rim of Maxwell reaches the approximate mid-point of Richardson, and together with the outer rampart covers nearly half the interior floor. The remainder of the rim of Richardson is worn and eroded, with Richardson W intruding into the northwestern rim and Richardson E lying along the eastern side.
The surviving interior floor of Richardson is relatively level, but marked with a number of small craterlets. The rim and interior floor is covered by a number of wispy deposits from the Giordano Bruno
Giordano Bruno (crater)
Giordano Bruno is a 22 km lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the northeastern limb. At this location it lies in an area that can be viewed during a favorable libration, although at such times the area is viewed from the side and not much detail can be seen...
impact, located just to the north-northeast.
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 Richardson.| Richardson | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| E | 31.9° N | 103.6° E | 22 km |
| W | 33.5° N | 98.3° E | 23 km |