Fermat (crater)

Fermat is a lunar impact crater located to the west of the Rupes Altai escarpment. To the west-southwest is the larger crater Sacrobosco, and to the southwest is the irregular Pons. It is 39 kilometers in diameter and two kilometers deep.^[1]

The rim of Fermat is worn and somewhat irregular, but still possesses an outer rampart. The north rim is indented by a double crater formation that includes Fermat A. The floor is relatively flat and does not have a central rise.^[2] The crater is from the Pre-Imbrian period, 4.55 to 3.85 billion years ago.^[1]

It is named for 17th century French mathematician Pierre de Fermat.^[1]

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Fermat.^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Autostar Suite Astronomer Edition. CD-ROM. Meade, April 2006.
2. ^ Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-913135-17-8. 
3. ^ Bussey, B.; Spudis, P., (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81528-2.