Horrocks (crater)

Horrocks
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates4°00′S 5°54′E / 4.0°S 5.9°E / -4.0; 5.9
Diameter30 km (19 mi)
Depth3.0 km (1.9 mi)
Colongitude355° at sunrise
EponymJeremiah Horrocks
Horrocks crater and closer craters with mineral postprocessing
Oblique view from Apollo 16
Horrocks at the terminator from Apollo 11

Horrocks is a lunar impact crater located entirely within the eroded northeast rim of the much larger walled plain Hipparchus. Its diameter is 30 kilometres (19 mi). It was named after the 17th-century English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks.[1][2] To the south of Horrocks are the craters Halley and Hind, Rhaeticus is to the north, and Pickering to the northeast. Gyldén and Saunder lie to the west and east, respectively.

The rim of Horrocks is somewhat irregular and polygonal, particularly with an outward protrusion on the eastern rim. It has a small outer ridge. The inner wall is slumped, particularly along the northwest where it forms a heap of talus. The interior floor is uneven, and it has a central mountain and hills. The crater is approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) in diameter and 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) deep. It is from the Eratosthenian period, which lasted from 3.2 to 1.1 billion years ago.[2]

  1. ^ "Horrocks (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ^ a b Autostar Suite Astronomer Edition. CD-ROM. Meade, April 2006.