Clavius crater

A giant ancient crater with craters inside it

Clavius is one of the Moon's largest craters, 230 km wide. It is so old and so big that other craters have landed inside it — like small bowls inside a large one. In 2020 scientists found water right here, on the sunlit side of the Moon!

Clavius is 231 km across — the third-largest crater on the near side, about 4 billion years old. An arc of ever-smaller craters (Rutherfurd, D, C, N, J) crosses its floor — a favourite sight for amateur astronomers. In 2020 NASA's SOFIA flying observatory detected water molecules in Clavius's soil (100–400 ppm) — the first time on a sunlit surface. It is named after the German mathematician Christopher Clavius.

Fun facts

• Clavius has 100 times less water than Sahara sand — but it's there!
• Clavius is so big that the whole Tashkent region would fit inside.
• The Moon base in 2001: A Space Odyssey is located in Clavius.