Geological Chronicle
Poynting is a large impact crater located on the lunar far side, measuring 127.55 kilometers in diameter to the north-northwest of the Hertzsprung walled plain. The feature lies between the crater Fersman to the east and Kekulé to the west-southwest. Its rim remains generally circular despite erosion, retaining terraces along the north and east, alongside an inward intrusion on its northwestern crest. Pairs of small craters sit along its eastern, western, and southeastern walls.
The crater interior forms a relatively level floor punctuated by a central peak ridge situated east of the midpoint. Multiple small craterlets mark the floor near the southern and northwestern margins. Infrared spectroscopic measurements have identified pure crystalline plagioclase on the central peak and the southwestern floor.
The crater is named for the British physicist John Henry Poynting. He is also commemorated on Mars, where a crater in the Tharsis region carries his name.