Leavitt (crater)
Encyclopedia
Leavitt is a crater
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...

 on the far side of the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

. It is a moderately eroded crater, but only a few minor craterlets lie along the edge and interior. Most of these features lie within the northern half of the crater, but the largest lies along the southern inner wall. The crater has a low central ridge near the mid-point. There is patch of higher-albedo
Albedo
Albedo , or reflection coefficient, is the diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface. It is defined as the ratio of reflected radiation from the surface to incident radiation upon it...

 material along the eastern rim, centered on a tiny craterlet.

Nearly attached to the northern outer rim is the satellite crater Leavitt Z, a formation that appears similar to Leavitt but somewhat more worn. Less than two crater diameters to the northwest of Leavitt is the huge walled plain Apollo
Apollo (crater)
Apollo is an enormous impact crater located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. This formation dwarfs the large crater Oppenheimer that is located next to the western rim. The crater Barringer lies across the northern wall...

. To the northeast is the crater Buffon
Buffon (crater)
Buffon is a lunar crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies a crater diameter south of the large walled plain Chebyshev. To the northeast is the crater Langmuir and to the southwest is Leavitt...

.

The crater is named after Henrietta Swan Leavitt
Henrietta Swan Leavitt
Henrietta Swan Leavitt was an American astronomer. A graduate of Radcliffe College, Leavitt went to work in 1893 at the Harvard College Observatory in a menial capacity as a "computer", assigned to count images on photographic plates...

, a Harvard astronomer. The crater was named to honor deaf people who have made substantial contributions to science. (Miss Leavitt was deaf.) Leavitt was a major figure in the history of astronomy, providing the key to determining the size of the cosmos, and changing the face of modern astronomy. She propounded her theory while working as a $10.50-a-week assistant at the Harvard College Observatory
Harvard College Observatory
The Harvard College Observatory is an institution managing a complex of buildings and multiple instruments used for astronomical research by the Harvard University Department of Astronomy. It is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and was founded in 1839...

.

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 Leavitt.
Leavitt Latitude Longitude Diameter
Z 42.7° S 139.2° W 65 km
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