Poynting (lunar crater)

Poynting
LRO image
Coordinates18°06′N 133°24′W / 18.1°N 133.4°W / 18.1; -133.4
Diameter128 km
DepthUnknown
Colongitude135° at sunrise
EponymJohn H. Poynting
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image

Poynting is a large lunar impact crater located on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the north-northwest of the walled plain Hertzsprung, with the crater Fersman immediately to the east and Kekulé equally near to the west-southwest.

This crater has undergone some erosion, and several small craters lie across the rim and inner wall. A pair of these lie next to each other along the eastern side, and another pair on the western rim. Across the southeast rim is a nearly merged crater pair. Parts of the rim remain well-defined, however, including the east and north where there are some terraces. The rim is generally circular, with a slight inward intrusion along the northwest.

The interior floor is relatively level, except for a central peak ridge located slightly to the east of the midpoint. There are small craterlets on the floor near the south and northwest edge, and a number of small craters.

Satellite craters

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By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Poynting.

Poynting Latitude Longitude Diameter
X 23.3° N 136.2° W 22 km

References

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  • Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
  • Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
  • Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  • Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
  • McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  • Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID 122125855.
  • Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
  • Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
  • Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
  • Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
  • Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.