Babcock 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 is located 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 was named after American astronomer

Harold D. Babcock Harold Delos Babcock (January 24, 1882 – April 8, 1968) was an American astronomer and the father of Horace W. Babcock. He was of English and German ancestry. He was born in Edgerton, Wisconsin, before completing high school in Los Angeles ...

. It lies on the northeastern edge of

Mare Smythii Mare Smythii (Latin for "Smyth's Sea") is a lunar mare located along the equator on the easternmost edge of the Moon's near side. It is named for the 19th-century British astronomer William Henry Smyth. The Smythii basin where the mare is located ...

, to the southeast of

Mare Marginis Mare Marginis (Latin ''marginis'', the "Sea of the Edge") is a lunar mare that lies on the very edge of the lunar nearside. The selenographic coordinates of this feature are 13.3° N, 86.1° E, and the diameter is 358 km. The name is Latin ...

. To the south of Babcock is the crater Purkynĕ, and to the east-northeast lies

Erro Erro may refer to: * Erro, Navarre, a municipality in the autonomous community of Navarre, Spain * Erro (river), a river in north-west Italy * Erro (crater), a lunar crater named after the astronomer * "Meu Erro", a song on Os Paralamas do Suce ...

. Babcock is located in a region of the Moon's surface that is occasionally brought into view during favorable librations, although it is seen from the edge and so little detail can be discerned from an observer on the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

The rim of Babcock has been eroded, notched and modified by subsequent impacts, leaving a somewhat irregular and uneven outer rim. The 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 relatively flat. In place of a central peak, a small crater lies very close to the crater midpoint. This crater has been designated Zasyadko. A smaller crater lies on the interior near the northern edge. The area about Babcock has been subject to past inundations by

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 ...

flows, leaving the surface relatively flat and the remnants of ghost craters visible as curved ridges in the ground.

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 Babcock.

References

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External links

Babcock at The Moon Wiki
{{Craters on the Moon: A–B Impact craters on the Moon