Cockcroft is a degraded lunar impact crater that is situated on the far side of the Moon from the Earth,[3] so that it has only been observed and photographed from orbit. It lies to the northeast of the larger crater Fitzgerald, and southeast of Evershed. Directly to the east is the smaller Van den Bergh crater.[4]
 LRO mosaic | |
| Coordinates | 31°18′N 162°36′W / 31.3°N 162.6°W |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 92.16 km (57.27 mi)[1] |
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 164° at sunrise |
| Formation | Pre-Nectarian[2] |
| Eponym | John D. Cockcroft |
This formation dates to the Pre-Nectarian period on the lunar geologic timescale.[2] The rim is heavily worn and eroded from subsequent impacts. The satellite crater Cockcroft N is intruding into the south-southwestern rim. There are small craters along the rim to the southeast, east, and north-northwest, and a small crater lies along the eastern inner wall. The interior floor is uneven in places, particularly in the southern half, and contains multiple small and tiny craterlets. The remains of a crater appears to overlay the southwest quadrant of the interior.[5]: 51
This crater is named after English nuclear physicist John D. Cockcroft (1897–1967), the 1951 Nobel laureate in physics.[6] Its designation was formally adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1970.[1]
Satellite craters
editReferences
edit- 1 2 "Cockcroft". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
- 1 2 Byrne, Charles J. (2008). The Far Side of the Moon. Springer. p. 102, 123. ISBN 978-1-4899-8806-5.
- ↑ Moore, Patrick (2000). The Data Book of Astronomy. CRC Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-4200-3344-1.
- ↑ Cockroft lies across the junction of these two charts:
- 1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
- ↑ Menzel, D. H.; et al. (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.
- ↑ Grego, P. (2015). "Satellite Crater". In Hargitai, H.; Kereszturi, Á. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_328.
Sources
edit- 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.
- Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.