Coulomb (crater)

Coulomb is a large lunar impact crater located on the far side of the Moon. It lies in the northern hemisphere, to the northwest of the huge walled plain Korolev, and northeast of the crater Sklodowska. Due to its location, it cannot be viewed directly from Earth and must be observed from orbiting spacecraft.

The crater is a prominent feature, characterized by its size (approximately 89 kilometers in diameter) and well-defined rim. Coulomb's rim is somewhat eroded and notched in places, but retains a generally circular outline. There are several smaller craters along the rim and within the interior.

The interior floor is relatively flat in places, but also features some irregularities and smaller craters. Notably, a small crater cluster lies near the center of Coulomb. The floor shows evidence of past impacts and subsequent modification processes, such as isostatic adjustment.

Coulomb is named after the French physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (1736-1806), who is best known for developing Coulomb's law, which describes the electrostatic interaction between electrically charged particles. The crater's name was officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).