Heaviside (lunar crater)

This article is about the crater on the Moon. For the Martian crater, see Heaviside (Martian crater).
Heaviside
Lunar Orbiter 2 image
Coordinates10°24′S 167°06′E / 10.4°S 167.1°E / -10.4; 167.1
Diameter165 km
Depth3.0 km[1][2]
Colongitude196° at sunrise
EponymOliver Heaviside
Oblique view of Heaviside from Apollo 17
Southern Heaviside crater

Heaviside is a large lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It is attached to the eastern rim of the equally large walled plain Keeler, although Keeler is somewhat less eroded. To the northwest lies the crater Stratton, and to the southeast is the prominent Aitken.

The outer wall of Heaviside has been worn and eroded by subsequent impacts, particularly to the north and south. Only the eastern rim remains relatively intact, while the western rim has been slightly distorted by the adjacent Keeler impact.

The relatively flat interior floor is marked by many small craters and rugged terrain to the southeast and west. The most notable of these are the satellite craters Heaviside N in the south, Heaviside Z in the north, and the bowl-shaped Heaviside E near the eastern rim.

The crater was named after British mathematician and physicist Oliver Heaviside by the IAU in 1970.[3] Heaviside was known as Crater 305 prior to naming.[4]

  1. ^ LTO-85C2 Heaviside — L&PI topographic orthophotomap
  2. ^ LTO-85C3 Ibn Hayyan — L&PI topographic orthophotomap
  3. ^ Heaviside, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
  4. ^ Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A)