Fowler is a large
lunar impact crater
An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...
that lies in the northern
hemisphere
Hemisphere may refer to:
In geometry
* Hemisphere (geometry), a half of a sphere
As half of Earth or any spherical astronomical object
* A hemisphere of Earth
** Northern Hemisphere
** Southern Hemisphere
** Eastern Hemisphere
** Western Hemi ...
on the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
's
far side. It lies to the south-southwest of the crater
Esnault-Pelterie, and north of
Gadomski. Overlying the eastern rim and intruding into the interior is
Von Zeipel.
The outer rim of this crater has become worn and rounded by impact erosion until it has become little more than an irregular slope down to the interior depression. A number of small craters lie along the rim and the inner wall. An impact along the northeast rim, just north of Von Zeipel, has a relatively high
albedo
Albedo ( ; ) is the fraction of sunlight that is Diffuse reflection, diffusely reflected by a body. It is measured on a scale from 0 (corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation) to 1 (corresponding to a body that reflects ...
and is surrounded by a skirt of bright material. This is indicative of a relatively recent impact that has not had time to darken due to space weathering.
The eastern part of the interior floor is partly overlaid by the outer
rampart
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department
** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...
and ejecta from Von Zeipel. The southern floor is marked by an arc of small impacts. The northern floor is more level and is marked only by a few small craterlets.
Prior to formal naming by the
IAU
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
in 1970, Fowler was called ''Crater 83''.
Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A)
2nd Edition October 1967 A crater to the west of Fowler that is currently unnamed was called ''Crater 81''.
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 Fowler.
References
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Impact craters on the Moon
{{Craters on the Moon: C-F