Woltjer (crater)

LRO image, with Woltjer below center
Coordinates	44.87°N 159.83°W / 44.87; -159.83
Diameter	44.50 km (27.65 mi)
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	160° at sunrise
Eponym	Jan Woltjer

Woltjer is an impact crater that is located in the northern latitudes of the Moon's far side. It is just attached to the southern outer rim of the larger crater Montgolfier. To the southwest is Schneller and to the east is Stoletov. It is named after astronomer Jan Woltjer.

This is a relatively recent impact compared to most of the craters on the far side, and the rim is still well-formed with little erosion. It is old enough, however, that its albedo matches its surroundings and it lacks a ray system. The inner wall has slumped in places and formed piles of talus along the south. The interior floor has two lines of low ridges that begin in the southeast and curve up to the northwestern inner wall. There is a level patch in the southern floor near the inner wall.

The crater was formally named by the IAU in 1970 after Dutch astronomer Jan Woltjer.[1]

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 Woltjer.

Woltjer	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
P	43.4° N	161.5° W	33 km
T	45.1° N	164.7° W	15 km

References

1. Woltjer, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)

• 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. 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.

External links

Media related to Woltjer (lunar crater) at Wikimedia Commons

• Lunar Orbiter Photo Number V-039-H3