Bunsen is a

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

impact crater An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...

that lies near the northwestern limb of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

. It is located to the west of the

Oceanus Procellarum Oceanus Procellarum ( ; from ) is a vast lunar mare on the western edge of the near side of the Moon. It is the only one of the lunar maria to be called an "Oceanus" (ocean), due to its size: Oceanus Procellarum is the largest of the maria ("s ...

and the crater von Braun. To the southeast is the crater

Lavoisier Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794),
CNRS (

Gerard Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other Germanic name, early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful ...

. Northwest of Bunsen, on the

far side ''The Far Side'' is a single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Chronicle Features and then Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from December 31, 1979, to January 1, 1995 (when Larson retired as a cartoonist). Its surrealis ...

of the Moon, is McLaughlin. Due to its position this crater appears foreshortened when viewed from the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

, and its visibility is affected by

libration In lunar astronomy, libration is the cyclic variation in the apparent position of the Moon that is perceived by observers on the Earth and caused by changes between the orbital and rotational planes of the moon. It causes an observer to see ...

. This crater has become considerably worn and eroded by subsequent impacts, leaving a formation that has been described as disintegrated. The most intact portion of the rim is along the northeastern side. There is a smaller, crater-like formation intruding into the southeastern rim. Within the crater, the floor is pitted by tiny impacts, and has a fracture system of criss-crossing clefts near the northern and southern rims. There is a low ridge near the southwest corner of the interior. Bunsen was formally named by the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

in 1964 after Robert W. Bunsen.

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 Bunsen. An unnamed crater underlying Bunsen A, B, and C was called ''Crater 109''.Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A)
2nd Edition October 1967

References

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External links

* {{Craters on the Moon: A–B Impact craters on the Moon