Olcott (crater)

Olcott is a relatively fresh crater on the far side of the Moon. It was named after American astronomer William Tyler Olcott.[1] It lies to the south-southeast of the craters Seyfert and Polzunov, and to the north of Kostinskiy.

Olcott

Oblique Apollo 16 image, facing northwest
Coordinates	20.6°N 117.8°E
Diameter	81 km
Colongitude	243° at sunrise
Eponym	William T. Olcott

Oblique Apollo 14 image, facing east. Olcott is left of center, Olcott E and M on right

This crater lacks any significant appearance of erosion from subsequent impacts, and its features are relatively well-defined. The rim edge is generally circular, with a slight outward bulge to the northeast and a larger bulge to the south. It has an outer rampart and some terraces and slumped edges along the inner wall. Several low ridges lie near the interior midpoint, with the western pair near the center and the eastern peaks offset towards the eastern rim.

The satellite craters Olcott M and Olcott L form an overlapping pair along the southern outer rampart of Olcott, with the smaller member of the pair Olcott L overlapping Olcott M. The satellite crater Olcott E is partly overlain by the eastern rim of Olcott.

Prior to naming in 1970 by the IAU,[2] this crater was known as Crater 209.[3]

Satellite craters

Olcott and its 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 Olcott.

Olcott	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
E	20.9° N	119.8° E	59 km
L	18.3° N	118.6° E	36 km
M	17.9° N	117.6° E	46 km

References

1. "Olcott (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
2. Olcott, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
3. Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A)

• Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Olcott at The Moon Wiki