Hilbert (crater) explained

Coordinates:	-17.87°N 108.32°W
Diameter:	173.24 km
Depth:	Unknown
Colong:	254
Eponym:	David Hilbert

Hilbert is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just past the southeast limb. It is named for German mathematician David Hilbert.^[1] It lies just beyond the region of the surface that is occasionally brought into view due to libration, and so this feature cannot be observed directly from the Earth.

The crater is attached to the southeast rim of the walled plain Pasteur, a formation nearly half as large again as Hilbert. To the southeast of Hilbert is the smaller crater Alden, while Backlund lies to the west-northwest.

Much of the outer rim of Hilbert remains relatively intact, although it is heavily eroded in places particularly in the south. The interior is relatively flat, but has been deeply gouged by several small craters. There is a short range of central ridges offset to the west of the interior midpoint. Just to the west of the ridges is Hilbert W, a crater with a smaller crater overlying the western rim, giving it a pear-like shape. Hilbert H is a circular, bowl-shaped crater in the east part of the floor. Next to the northern rim is Hilbert Y. There are also many lesser craterlets scattered about the interior.

Hilbert is one of the largest craters of Nectarian age.^[2]

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Hilbert.

Hilbert	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	15.9° S	108.7° E	11 km
E	16.5° S	111.8° E	49 km
G	19.0° S	114.0° E	50 km
H	18.2° S	109.6° E	14 km
L	21.2° S	108.9° E	32 km
S	18.1° S	105.8° E	12 km
W	17.1° S	107.6° E	20 km
Y	15.6° S	107.5° E	28 km

References

• Book: Andersson . L. E. . Whitaker . E. A. . Ewen Whitaker . 1982 . NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature . NASA RP-1097 .
• Book: Bussey . B. . Ben Bussey . Spudis . P. . Paul Spudis . 2004 . The Clementine Atlas of the Moon . . New York . 978-0-521-81528-4 .
• Book: Cocks . Elijah E. . Cocks . Josiah C. . 1995 . Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature . Tudor Publishers . 978-0-936389-27-1 .
• Web site: McDowell . Jonathan . July 15, 2007 . Lunar Nomenclature . . 2007-10-24 .
• Menzel. D. H.. Minnaert. M.. Levin. B.. Dollfus. A.. Bell. B.. Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU. 10.1007/BF00171763. Space Science Reviews. 12. 2. 136–186. 1971. 1971SSRv...12..136M. 122125855.
• Book: Moore , Patrick . Patrick Moore

. Patrick Moore . 2001 . On the Moon . . 978-0-304-35469-6 .

• Book: Price , Fred W. . 1988 . The Moon Observer's Handbook . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-33500-3 .
• Book: Rükl , Antonín . Antonín Rükl

. Antonín Rükl . 1990 . Atlas of the Moon . . 978-0-913135-17-4 .

• Book: Webb , Rev. T. W. . Thomas William Webb

. Thomas William Webb . 1962 . Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes . 6th revised . Dover . 978-0-486-20917-3 .

• Book: Whitaker , Ewen A. . Ewen Whitaker

. Ewen Whitaker . 1999 . Mapping and Naming the Moon . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-62248-6 .

• Book: Wlasuk , Peter T. . 2000 . Observing the Moon . Springer . 978-1-85233-193-1 .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hilbert. Gazeteer of Planetary Nomenclature. International Astronomical Union. 13 September 2017.
2. https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1348 The geologic history of the Moon