Ostwald is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies just to the east of the crater Guyot, and near the northern border of Ibn Firnas. Recht lies along its eastern rim.

Ostwald
Apollo 16 mapping camera image (north is in upper right)
Coordinates10°24′N 121°54′E / 10.4°N 121.9°E / 10.4; 121.9
Diameter104 km
Depth3.9 km
Colongitude239° at sunrise
EponymWilhelm Ostwald
Oblique Apollo 14 Hasselblad camera image

This is a worn and eroded crater formation with an irregular rim and inner wall due to multiple small impacts. A brief crater chain forms a cleft in the western inner face. The interior is somewhat more level, but is pock-marked by a multitude of tiny craterlets. There are some low central ridges to the south and northeast of the midpoint.

Naming

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The crater is named after German chemist and Nobel laureate Wilhelm Ostwald. Prior to naming in 1970 by the IAU,[1] this crater was known as Crater 212.[2]

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 Ostwald.

Ostwald Latitude Longitude Diameter
Y 13.6° N 121.0° E 24 km

References

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  1. ^ Ostwald, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
  2. ^ Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A)
  • Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
  • 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.
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