Hess 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 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 ...

that lies in the southern hemisphere on the

far side of the Moon The far side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that always faces away from Earth, opposite to the Near side of the Moon, near side, because of synchronous rotation in the Moon's orbit. Compared to the near side, the far side's terrain is ru ...

. The crater rim has been worn by subsequent impacts, leaving a low, eroded outer wall. The flat interior has been resurfaced by

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

flows and is free of significant impacts. This floor has a slightly darker

albedo Albedo (; ) is the measure of the diffuse reflection of sunlight, solar radiation out of the total solar radiation and measured on a scale from 0, corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation, to 1, corresponding to a body ...

than the surrounding terrain. The crater

Boyle Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...

is nearly attached to the northeastern rim of Hess, and Abbe lies to the south. To the west is the large walled plain Poincaré, and Hess is located at the eastern edge of the crater's deeply eroded outer rim. The satellite crater Hess Z is partly overlaid by the northern rim of Hess. The small crater Hess M joins the south-southwest rim of Hess to the northwest rim of Abbe.

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 Hess.

References

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