Some old terracing on Coulomb’s inner walls

Feature Profile & Selenographic Data

Feature type

crater

Coordinates

54.46° N · 115.00° W

Diameter

89.72 km

IAU approval

1970/01/01 00:00:00

LAC quadrangle

LAC-20 · Coulomb

Geological Period

Late Imbrian

Geological Chronicle

Coulomb lies behind the Moon’s northwestern limb, on the far side. It sits west-southwest of Poczobutt and northeast of Sarton, within the Coulomb-Sarton Basin. The basin is a 530-kilometer-wide impact crater of Pre-Nectarian age.

Coulomb dates to the Late Imbrian period. Its rim is mildly eroded but retains a well-defined edge, with old terraces on the wide inner walls. The floor is remarkably level and nearly featureless, at least compared with the more rugged terrain around it. Only a few tiny craterlets mark the interior plain. Another small crater lies near the south-southeast inner wall.

An outer rampart extends for about a third of the crater’s diameter. Satellite crater Coulomb V lies just beyond the west-northwest limb; Coulomb J sits a short distance from the outer rim on the opposite side, making a nearly symmetric pattern. The inner walls have only a few small impacts, including one near each of those satellite craters.

Coulomb is named for French physicist Charles A. Coulomb (1736–1806). The International Astronomical Union formally adopted the crater’s designation in 1970.

Chronology & Exploration

1. Late Imbrian Formation period

   The crater dates to the Late Imbrian period on the lunar geologic timescale.

2. Undated Outer rampart described

   The exterior rampart extends for about a third of the crater’s diameter; Coulomb V and Coulomb J form a nearly symmetric pattern on opposite sides.

3. 1970 Designation adopted

   The International Astronomical Union formally adopted Coulomb’s designation.

Scientific Sources & References

• International Astronomical Union Gazetteer — Registry source for the crater’s identity, coordinates, diameter and name origin.
• Wikipedia: Coulomb (crater) — Localized source text for the crater’s setting, basin, geology and morphology.

Name Origin

Charles-Augustin de; French physicist (1736-1806).