Auwers is a small
lunar impact crater
An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact crater ...
located in the
Montes Haemus
Montes Haemus is a mountain range that forms the southwestern edge of the Mare Serenitatis basin on the Moon. They form a less prominent mirror image of the Montes Apenninus range to the west, and curve up to nearly join at the northern end. T ...
mountain range at the south edge of
Mare Serenitatis
Mare Serenitatis (Latin ''serēnitātis'', the "Sea of Serenity") is a lunar mare located to the east of Mare Imbrium on the Moon. Its diameter is .
Geology
Mare Serenitatis is located within the Serenitatis basin, which is of the Nectarian ...
. It is named after German astronomer
Arthur Auwers
Georg Friedrich Julius Arthur von Auwers (12 September 1838 – 24 January 1915) was a German astronomer. Auwers was born in Göttingen to Gottfried Daniel Auwers and Emma Christiane Sophie (née Borkenstein).
He attended the University of G� ...
.
It lies southeast of the crater
Menelaus
In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre-Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of t ...
. The irregular rim of Auwers has a gap at the north-northwest edge, which allowed
lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock ( magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...
flows to reach the crater floor and flood the interior.
Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Auwers.
References
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External links
LTO-60A2 Auwers— L&PI
topographic map
In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but histori ...
Impact craters on the Moon
{{Craters on the Moon: A–B