Hilbert (crater)
Hilbert is a lunar crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just past the southeast limb. It lies just beyond the region of the surface that is occasionally brought into view due to libration, and so this feature can not be observed directly from the Earth. The eponym for the crater is the German mathematician David Hilbert. The crater is attached to the southeast rim of the Pasteur walled-plane, a formation nearly half again as large as Hilbert. To the southeast of Hilbert is the smaller Alden crater, while Backlund crater 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. Near the mid-point is 'Hilbert W', a crater with a smaller crater overlaying the western rim — giving it a pear-like shape. 'Hilbert H' is a circular, bowl-shaped crater in the southeast part of the floor. Next to the northern rim is 'Hilbert Y'. There are also many lesser craterlets situated about the interior.
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on Lunar maps by placing the
letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Hilbert
crater.
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