Van der Waals (crater)
Encyclopedia
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 and rugged. The satellite crater Van der Waals W is attached to the exterior of the northeast, and Van der Waals H intrudes into the rim along the southeast. The interior floor is relatively even and featureless, with only a few tiny craterlets to mark the surface.
Nearby craters of note include Clark
to the north, Carver
to the east, and Pikel'ner
to the southeast. About two crater diameters to the west-southwest is Lebedev
.
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...
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...
. 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 and rugged. The satellite crater Van der Waals W is attached to the exterior of the northeast, and Van der Waals H intrudes into the rim along the southeast. The interior floor is relatively even and featureless, with only a few tiny craterlets to mark the surface.
Nearby craters of note include Clark
Clark (lunar crater)
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...
to the north, Carver
Carver (crater)
Carver is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, due east of the walled plain Van der Waals. To the northeast is the crater Rosseland, and to the south-southeast lies Kozyrev....
to the east, and Pikel'ner
Pikel'ner (crater)
Pikel'ner is an impact crater on the Moon's far side. It lies to the southeast of the larger crater Van der Waals, and to the north of the Vallis Planck cleft. Pikel'ner overlies more than half of the satellite crater Pikel'ner Y to the north...
to the southeast. About two crater diameters to the west-southwest is Lebedev
Lebedev (crater)
Lebedev is a crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located at the eastern edge of the irregular feature known as Mare Australe. The crater lies to the southeast of the larger, flooded Lamb, and to the east-northeast of Anuchin...
.
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 Van der Waals.| Van der Waals |
Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| B | 41.0° S | 121.0° E | 17 km |
| C | 40.5° S | 123.6° E | 24 km |
| H | 44.3° S | 121.7° E | 31 km |
| K | 45.8° S | 122.0° E | 55 km |
| W | 41.3° S | 117.1° E | 46 km |