Whewell (crater)



Whewell is a lunar impact crater that lies on a stretch of lava-resurfaced terrain to the west of Mare Tranquillitatis. Its diameter is 13 km. It was named after the 19th-century English philosopher and naturalist, William Whewell. It is located to the east of the disintegrated crater Tempel and north-northwest of D'Arrest. To the east is Cayley, a slightly larger but very similar formation. To the North lies the Rima Ariadaeus, which is a linear rille that is 300 kilometers long and was formed when a section of the Moon's crust sank down between two parallel fault lines, producing a graben. Further north again, lies the 90 km wide crater Julius Caesar.

This is a circular, bowl-shaped crater with interior walls that slope down gently to a small interior floor. This crater has not been significantly eroded, and the rim is well-defined.

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 Whewell.