Dewar (crater)

Dewar

LRO image
Coordinates	2.61°S 165.62°E / -2.61; 165.62
Diameter	46.31 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	195° at sunrise
Eponym	James Dewar

Clementine image showing that Dewar lies within a low-albedo patch on the far side of the Moon.

Oblique Apollo 11 image showing the rim of Dewar at right, along with Dewar E and F near center. The scene is within the low-albedo area.

Dewar is a lunar impact crater that lies on the Moon's far side. Less than one crater diameter to the south-southwest is the crater Stratton. Vening Meinesz is a little over one crater diameter to the northwest. The slightly worn rim of this crater is roughly circular, with a small outward protrusion along the southern edge. The interior floor is marked by several small impacts along the eastern side.

The crater was named after British chemist James Dewar by the IAU in 1970.[1]

Dewar lies on the south side of an anomalously low albedo area of terrain (dark patch) on the far side of the Moon. The low-albedo area is also a geochemical anomaly, and is high in iron oxide and titanium dioxide. It has been interpreted as a cryptomare.[2]

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 Dewar.

Dewar	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
E	2.3° S	167.8° E	15 km
F	2.8° S	167.5° E	14 km
S	3.1° S	163.9° E	23 km

References

1. Dewar, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
2. Lawrence, S. J., B. R. Hawke, J. J. Gillis-Davis, G. J. Taylor, D. J. Lawrence, J. T. Cahill, J. J. Hagerty, P. G. Lucey, G. A. Smith, and K. Keil (2008), Composition and origin of the Dewar geochemical anomaly, J. Geophys. Res., 113, E02001, doi:10.1029/2007JE002904.

• 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.
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