Poynting (lunar crater)

Poynting is a large lunar impact crater located on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the north-northwest of the walled plain Hertzsprung, with the crater Fersman immediately to the east and Kekulé equally near to the west-southwest.

This crater has undergone some erosion, and several small craters lie across the rim and inner wall. A pair of these lie next to each other along the eastern side, and another pair on the western rim. Across the southeast rim is a nearly merged crater pair. Parts of the rim remain well-defined, however, including the east and north where there are some terraces. The rim is generally circular, with a slight inward intrusion along the northwest.

The interior floor is relatively level, except for a central peak ridge located slightly to the east of the midpoint. There are small craterlets on the floor near the south and northwest edge, and a number of small craters.

The feature is named for the English physicist John Henry Poynting, who also has a (somewhat smaller) crater named after him in the Tharsis region of Mars.