Fizeau (crater)

Fizeau

Oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image
Coordinates	58.6°S 133.9°W / -58.6; -133.9
Diameter	111 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	137° at sunrise
Formation	Upper Imbrian
Eponym	Hippolyte Fizeau

Another oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 image, facing west

Fizeau is a prominent lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, in the southern hemisphere. Nearby craters of note include Minkowski to the west-northwest, and Eijkman to the southwest.

On the lunar geologic timescale, Fizeau dates to the Upper Imbrian period. The inner wall of the crater rim is multiply terraced in the northern half, while the southern rim has a shear inner surface leading down to slumped deposits on the crater floor. There is a small but prominent crater lying across the southwest rim, with an inner surface that forms terraced steps covering most of the interior. There are also smaller craterlets on the rim to the northeast and west-southwest.

The interior of Fizeau is relatively flat beyond the terraces, with only a few low rises in the northwest section of the crater and a central peak near the midpoint. The spectra of this peak fits a gabbroic norite mineralogy, which originated from a depth of 11.1 to 18.0 km. Only a few tiny craterlets are located on the floor.

Satellite craters

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

Fizeau	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
C	56.1° S	128.5° W	22 km
F	58.2° S	124.5° W	19 km
G	59.2° S	124.5° W	54 km
Q	59.8° S	136.3° W	28 km
S	58.7° S	139.9° W	62 km

References

Sources

• 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. Archived from the original on 2012-02-08. 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. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• 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.