A worn rim marks Fleming on the Moon’s far side

Feature Profile & Selenographic Data

Feature type

crater

Coordinates

14.91° N · 109.28° E

Diameter

126.37 km

IAU approval

1970/01/01 00:00:00

LAC quadrangle

LAC-64 · Babcock

Geological Chronicle

Fleming lies on the Moon’s far side and cannot be seen from Earth. It lies about one crater diameter east-northeast of Hertz, and northwest of Lobachevskiy.

The low rim is heavily eroded and overlaid by smaller craters. The most notable is another crater named Fleming along the southern rim; a slightly smaller crater cuts across the lower eastern rim.

Small impacts mark the interior floor, along with a few ghost-crater rims. Fleming is one of the largest craters of Nectarian age.

The crater was named for Alexander and Williamina Fleming. Alexander was a British doctor and Nobel laureate; Williamina Paton was a Scottish-born American astronomer. Before formal naming, it was known as Crater 203; the IAU adopted the name in 1970.

Chronology & Exploration

1. Nectarian Crater formed

   Fleming is one of the largest craters of Nectarian age.

2. Before 1970 Earlier designation

   Before official naming, the crater was known as Crater 203.

3. 1970 IAU naming

   The IAU officially named the crater after Alexander and Williamina Fleming.

Scientific Sources & References

• International Astronomical Union Gazetteer — Registry record for the crater’s identity, coordinates, diameter, quadrangle, and name origin.
• Wikipedia: Fleming (crater) — Localized source text for the crater’s far-side location, rim and floor features, age, and naming history.

Name Origin

Alexander; British doctor, Nobel laureate (1881-1955); Williamina Paton; Scottish-born American astronomer (1857-1911).