Olcott is a relatively fresh crater 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

William Tyler Olcott William Tyler Olcott (January 11, 1873–July 6, 1936) was an American lawyer and amateur astronomer. He was born in Norwich, Connecticut, to William Marvin Olcott and E. Octavia Tyler, and was educated at Trinity College at Hartford, then ...

. It lies to the south-southeast of the craters Seyfert and Polzunov, and to the north of Kostinskiy. This crater lacks any significant appearance of erosion from subsequent impacts, and its features are relatively well-defined. The rim edge is generally circular, with a slight outward bulge to the northeast and a larger bulge to the south. It has an outer

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

and some

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk an ...

s and slumped edges along the inner wall. Several low ridges lie near the interior midpoint, with the western pair near the center and the eastern peaks offset towards the eastern rim. The satellite craters Olcott M and Olcott L form an overlapping pair along the southern outer rampart of Olcott, with the smaller member of the pair Olcott L overlapping Olcott M. The satellite crater Olcott E is partly overlain by the eastern rim of Olcott. Prior to 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 ...

, this crater was known as ''Crater 209''.Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A)
/ref>

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 Olcott.

References

* * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

{{Commonscat, Olcott (lunar crater), position=left
Olcott at The Moon Wiki
Impact craters on the Moon