Zwicky is a

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

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 is located on the far side of 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 ...

. It lies to the west of the crater Aitken, and is attached to the western rim of Vertregt. Attached to the northern end of Zwicky is

Heaviside Oliver Heaviside ( ; 18 May 1850 – 3 February 1925) was an English mathematician and physicist who invented a new technique for solving differential equations (equivalent to the Laplace transform), independently developed vector calculus, a ...

. Zwicky is a considerably eroded formation with an irregular rim and interior. Portions of the southern rim still survive, but the remainder has been almost completely eradicated. The satellite crater Zwicky N, located in the midst of the interior of Zwicky, has a relatively dark floor by comparison with the surrounding terrain. This smaller crater has a

polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

al outline with relatively smooth inner walls. The interior floor is a lower

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 ...

material that has a fractured surface. It is thought that this is caused by the cooling of molten material, or possibly tectonic movement. This is referred to informally as a "turtleback crater floor". The crater was named in 1974 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 ...

after astronomer

Fritz Zwicky Fritz Zwicky (; ; February 14, 1898 – February 8, 1974) was a Swiss astronomer. He worked most of his life at the California Institute of Technology in the United States of America, where he made many important contributions in theoretical an ...

(1898–1974), a professor at

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private university, private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small g ...

, Pasadena, and pioneer in the study of

supernovae A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion. The original ob ...

and of

galaxy cluster A galaxy cluster, or a cluster of galaxies, is a structure that consists of anywhere from hundreds to thousands of galaxies that are bound together by gravity, with typical masses ranging from 1014 to 1015 solar masses. Clusters consist of galax ...

s. The minor planet 1803 Zwicky is also named in his honour. Zwicky crater was known as ''Crater 306'' prior to naming.Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A)
/ref>

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 Zwicky. Zwicky N crater had the proposed name of ''Ibn Hayyan'', but this was not approved by the IAU. File:Zwicky N crater AS17-P-1931.jpg, File:Zwicky N crater AS17-154-23687.jpg,

References

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External links

LTO-85C3
Ibn Hayyan, Lunar Topographic Orthophotomap (LTO) Series, Defense Mapping Agency, Scale: 1:250,000 Impact craters on the Moon