van't Hoff is a
lunar impact crater
An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...
named after Dutch chemist
Jacobus H. van 't Hoff and is located to the northeast of the walled plain
Birkhoff, on the
far side of the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
. To the northwest is the crater
Stebbins, and to the east lies the smaller
Dyson.
This crater lies at high northern latitudes of the lunar surface, almost two-thirds the way from the
equator
The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...
to the pole. The outer rim of van't Hoff is heavily eroded and the crater has become distorted in shape by subsequent impacts. The rim edge is ill-defined in the western half where the inner wall is unusually wide. This edge may have become overlain by ejecta from other impacts to the west.
Along the eastern face the crater has apparently merged with one or two other impacts, producing an outward double-bulge. There are several smaller impacts along the eastern rim, and a gouge in the surface forms a trough leading away to the northeast for nearly a crater diameter. Much of the interior floor of van't Hoff is relatively level, and is marked by some small craterlets. The most prominent of these is a small, cup-shaped crater in the southern half.
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 van't Hoff.
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Impact craters on the Moon
Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff