There are several
impact crater
An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...
s named Herschel in the
Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...
, although the best known is the huge crater on
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...
's moon
Mimas
Mimas may refer to:
*Mimas (Giant), son of Gaia in Greek mythology, one of the Gigantes
* Mimas (''Aeneid''), a son of Amycus and Theono, born the same night as Paris, who escorted Aeneas to Italy
*Karaburun, a town and district in Turkey, formerl ...
. Most are named after the eighteenth-century astronomer
William Herschel
Frederick William Herschel (; german: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline H ...
.
*
Herschel (lunar crater)
Herschel is a lunar impact crater located just to the north of the walled plain Ptolemaeus. Its diameter is 39 km. It was named after German-born British astronomer William Herschel.
Just to the north is the flooded crater Spörer, and ar ...
, on the Moon
*
Herschel (Martian crater), on Mars
*
Herschel (Mimantean crater)
Herschel () is a large crater in the leading hemisphere of the Saturnian moon Mimas, centered on the equator at 112° longitude. It is named after the 18th-century astronomer William Herschel, who discovered Mimas in 1789. Size
Herschel is the ...
, on Mimas
*
J. Herschel (crater) - a lunar crater named after John Herschel
*
C. Herschel (crater)
C. Herschel is a small lunar impact crater that lies on the western part of Mare Imbrium. It is named after German astronomer Caroline Herschel. It is a circular, bowl-shaped formation that has not undergone significant erosion. The interior floo ...
- a lunar crater named after Caroline Herschel
{{Set index article, astronomical objects
it:Herschel#Astronomia