An Eroded Far Side Crater Overlaid by Jackson's Ray System

Feature Profile & Selenographic Data

Feature type

crater

Coordinates

16.63° N · 166.09° W

Diameter

88.58 km

IAU approval

1970/01/01 00:00:00

LAC quadrangle

LAC-51 · Cockcroft

Geological Chronicle

Located on the Moon's far side, McMath is an impact crater measuring 88.58 kilometers in diameter. It lies south-southwest of the prominent crater Jackson and northwest of the Dirichlet-Jackson Basin, with material from Jackson's ray system extending across most of McMath. Farther to the south lies the crater pair of Zhukovskiy and Lebedinskiy.

McMath is an eroded crater with several small craters along its rim edge. The rim is most heavily worn at the northern end, but remains more intact to the east and west, enclosing a relatively level interior floor.

Prior to formal naming in 1970 by the International Astronomical Union, the crater was designated Crater 230. The feature is named for American engineer and astronomer Francis Charles McMath and American astronomer Robert Raynolds McMath.

Chronology & Exploration

1. 1970 IAU Name Adoption

   The International Astronomical Union officially names the feature McMath, replacing its provisional designation as Crater 230.

Scientific Sources & References

• IAU Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature — Registry coordinates, diameter, and namesake
• Wikipedia: McMath (crater) — Morphology and geographic context

Name Origin

Francis Charles; American engineer, astronomer (1867-1938); Robert Raynolds; American astronomer (1891-1962).