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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Davy crater say? I'm impacted by you.

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Davy
Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates11°51′S 8°09′W / 11.85°S 8.15°W / -11.85; -8.15
Diameter33.94 km (21.09 mi)[1]
Depth1.4 km (0.87 mi)
Colongitude8° at sunrise
EponymHumphry Davy

Davy is a small lunar impact crater that is located on the eastern edge of the Mare Nubium. It overlies the basaltic lava-flooded remains of the satellite crater Davy Y to the east, a formation which contains a crater chain designated Catena Davy.[2] To the southeast of Davy is the prominent crater Alphonsus.[3]

The outer rim of Davy is low, and the interior is mostly covered by material that has slumped down the walls.[4] It is a floor-fractured crater, although the fractures are fairly subdued.[5][6] The perimeter is somewhat polygonal in shape, especially in the western half, and the southeast rim has been overlain by Davy A.[3] The latter is bowl-shaped with a notch in the northern rim. The interior of Davy lacks a central peak, although there are some low central mounds and the rim of Davy Y forms a low ridge leading from the northern outer rim.[7]: 77 

This crater is named after British physicist Humphry Davy (1778-1829).[1] His name was introduced with the lunar nomenclature of German astronomer Johann H. von Mädler during the 19th century.[8] Its designation was officially adopted in 1935 by the International Astronomical Union.[1]

Catena Davy

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Lunar crater Davy at top and Catena Davy below, as seen from Apollo 12. NASA photo.
Davy crater and Catena Davy from Apollo 16

This linear string of 23 tiny craters runs from the midpoint of Davy Y towards the walled basin Ptolemaeus, following a slightly curving course to the east-northeast until it reaches Davy G.[9][2] It is located at selenographic coordinates 11.0° S, 7.0° W, and has a length of 50 km.

This formation is not believed to be due to secondary cratering because it is not radial to a suitable source crater. The most likely cause is believed to be a single body that broke apart prior to impact due to tidal effects.[10][11] High resolution images have demonstrated that the craters formed at about the same time since the ejecta from each crater does not overlay neighboring craters. However, there are still some scientists who believe that this chain of craters may be volcanic in origin.[12]

In 1974, six of the craters in the chain were given "unofficial" names for use in connection with NASA's Topophotomap 77D1S1(10).[13] These names, listed below, were later adopted by the IAU. Their positions in the chain are not readily distinguished based on their official coordinates, but they are well identified on the topophotomap.

Crater Coordinates Diameter Name source
Alan 10°54′S 6°06′W / 10.9°S 6.1°W / -10.9; -6.1 2.0 km Irish masculine name
Delia 10°54′S 6°06′W / 10.9°S 6.1°W / -10.9; -6.1 2.0 km Greek feminine name
Harold 10°54′S 6°00′W / 10.9°S 6.0°W / -10.9; -6.0 2.0 km Scandinavian masculine name
Osman 11°00′S 6°12′W / 11.0°S 6.2°W / -11.0; -6.2 2.0 km Turkish masculine name [14]
Priscilla 10°54′S 6°12′W / 10.9°S 6.2°W / -10.9; -6.2 1.8 km Latin feminine name
Susan 11°00′S 6°18′W / 11.0°S 6.3°W / -11.0; -6.3 1.0 km English feminine name

Catena Davy was considered as a possible early Apollo landing site.[15]

Satellite craters

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Davy crater and its satellite craters as seen from Earth

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Davy.[16]

Davy[7]: 296  Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 12.2° S 7.7° W 15 km
B 10.8° S 8.9° W 7 km
C 11.2° S 7.0° W 3 km
G 10.4° S 5.1° W 16 km
K 10.2° S 9.5° W 3 km
U 12.9° S 7.1° W 3 km
Y 11.0° S 7.1° W 70 km

References

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  1. 1 2 3 "Davy". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  2. 1 2 Grego, Peter (2005). The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers' Observing Guides Series. London: Springer-Verlag. p. 174. ISBN 1-85233-748-6.
  3. 1 2 Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
  4. ↑ Wood, Chuck (July 15, 2006). "Mistaken Identity". Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on 2025-02-25. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
  5. ↑ Wilhelms, Don E.; McCauley, John F.; Trask, Newell J. (1987). The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. doi:10.3133/pp1348. Table 9-3.
  6. ↑ Jozwiak, Lauren M.; et al. (November 2012). "Lunar floor-fractured craters: Classification, distribution, origin and implications for magmatism and shallow crustal structure". Journal of Geophysical Research. 117 (E11) E11005. Bibcode:2012JGRE..11711005J. doi:10.1029/2012JE004134. hdl:1721.1/85651.
  7. 1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  8. ↑ Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  9. ↑ Wood, Chuck (April 25, 2005). "A Chain of Mystery". Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on 2025-02-26. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  10. ↑ Wichman, R. W.; Wood, C. A. (March 1995). "The Davy Crater Chain: Implications for tidal disruption in the Earth-Moon System and elsewhere". Geophysical Research Letters. 22 (5): 583–586. Bibcode:1995GeoRL..22..583W. doi:10.1029/94GL02966.
  11. ↑ Wood, Chuck (July 14, 2004). "Jim and Davy". Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on 2024-11-27. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
  12. ↑ Wood, Chuck (January 27, 2004). "Davy's Chain". Lunar Photo of the Day. Archived from the original on 2025-05-13. Retrieved 2025-05-13.
  13. ↑ Oberbeck, V. R.; Greeley, R. (March 1975). Preliminary Analysis of the Topography of a Segment of Davy Catena. Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Vol. 6. p. 613. Bibcode:1975LPI.....6..613O.
  14. ↑ Davy, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
  15. ↑ Wilhelms, Don (1993). "Chapter 13: The Best-Laid Plans 1970". To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's History of Lunar Exploration. University of Arizona Press. p. 245. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  16. ↑ Grego, P. (2015). "Satellite Crater". In Hargitai, H.; Kereszturi, Á. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_328.
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