Haworth is an
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 at the
south pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...
of the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
.
The crater is named after British chemist
Walter Haworth
Sir Walter Norman Haworth Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (19 March 1883 – 19 March 1950) was a British chemist best known for his groundbreaking work on ascorbic acid (vitamin C) while working at the University of Birmingham. He received th ...
.
Formation
According to a 2015 study by Tye ''et al.'', Haworth was formed sometime during the
Pre-Nectarian
The pre-Nectarian period of the lunar geologic timescale runs from 4.533 billion years ago (the time of the initial formation of the Moon) to 3.920 billion years ago, when the Nectaris Basin was formed by a large impact. It is followed by the Necta ...
period, meaning it is at least 3.9 Ga (billion years) old.
Physical features
Due to Haworth's position near the lunar south pole, large amounts of the crater are
permanently shadowed regions. These regions are very cold; many are believed to never reach temperatures above 40
Kelvin
The kelvin, symbol K, is the primary unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), used alongside its prefixed forms and the degree Celsius. It is named after the Belfast-born and University of Glasgow-based engineer and phys ...
, making Haworth colder than nearby craters such as
Shackleton and
Faustini. Haworth and its surrounding low-lying areas are home to
frost
Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...
, which may be partly caused by these particularly low temperatures.
See also
*
Lunar south pole
The lunar south pole is the southernmost point on the Moon, at 90°S. It is of special interest to scientists because of the occurrence of water ice in permanently shadowed areas around it. The lunar south pole region features craters that are ...
References
{{reflist
, refs =
[
{{cite web
, date = January 16, 2009
, url = http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=7833
, title = Chandrayaan-1 peeks inside Moon craters
, publisher = Astronomy.com
, accessdate = June 22, 2010
]
[{{cite web
, date = October 30, 2008
, url = https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/HotTopics/index.php?/archives/346-Two-New-Crater-Names-Approved-for-Earths-Moon.html
, title = Two New Crater Names Approved for Earth's Moon
, publisher = ]U.S. Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...
, accessdate = June 22, 2010
, archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110611050935/http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/HotTopics/index.php?%2Farchives%2F346-Two-New-Crater-Names-Approved-for-Earths-Moon.html
, archive-date = June 11, 2011
, url-status = dead
External links
USGS: Earth's Moon
LQ30 quadrangle
Impact craters on the Moon