Olivier is an old, eroded

crater Crater may refer to: Landforms *Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet *Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surfac ...

that is located in the northern

hemisphere Hemisphere refers to: * A half of a sphere As half of the Earth * A hemisphere of Earth ** Northern Hemisphere ** Southern Hemisphere ** Eastern Hemisphere ** Western Hemisphere ** Land and water hemispheres * A half of the (geocentric) celesti ...

on the far side of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. It lies in a region of dense cratering on all sides. To the east-southeast is a younger but comparably sized crater named Störmer. Southwest of Olivier is the crater

Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History Volt ...

. The southern rim of Olivier is covered by an unusual formation of small craters that lie adjacent to each other and have almost completely obliterated the rim. These form a line from the southwest rim to the east-southeast. Several other craters lie across the rim of Olivier, most notably a crater cutting across the northern rim and several smaller craters in the eastern rim. The remainder of the rim is worn and eroded, so that the features have become rounded and somewhat irregular. In comparison to the rim, the interior floor is nearly flat and smooth. The most notable impact is a small craterlet near the northern rim. There are a few tiny craterlets scattered about, but nothing of significance. The crater lacks a central peak, and the only irregularities lie along the edge of the inner wall. The crater is named after American astronomer Charles Pollard Olivier.

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 Olivier.

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Impact craters on the Moon