Maksutov is a

crater Crater may refer to: Landforms *Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet *Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surfac ...

on the

far side ''The Far Side'' is a single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Chronicle Features and then Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from December 31, 1979, to January 1, 1995 (when Larson retired as a cartoonist). Its surrealis ...

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 ...

. It is located just to the south-southwest of the larger walled plain

Oppenheimer Oppenheimer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: In arts and media * Alan Oppenheimer (born 1930), American film actor * Andrés Oppenheimer (born 1951), Argentine author and journalist known for his analysis of Latin American p ...

. To the southwest lies the crater Nishina, and to the west-northwest is the merged crater pairing of Davisson and Leibnitz. This crater has a reasonably well-defined outer rim that has not been significantly degraded through impact erosion. The more notable feature of this crater, however, is the flooded interior floor. This nearly level interior surface has the lower

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 ...

that is characteristic of a

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

ic-

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 ...

-covered floor. The inner wall of the rim varies in width, with the narrowest portion lying in the southeast, while wider sections lie along the remaining edges, particularly to the northeast and northwest. The depth of the crater here is defined as the distance between the highest point on the rim to the lowest area of the crater floor, not including the floor's impact craters. Prior to formal naming in 1970 by the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach ...

, the crater was known as ''Crater 439''.Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A)
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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 Maksutov.

References

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