Cuvier is a 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 ...

on the southern part of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

's near side. It is attached to the east-southeast rim of the unusually shaped formation

Heraclitus Heraclitus of Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἡράκλειτος , "Glory of Hera"; ) was an ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. I ...

. To the northeast is the crater Clairaut. The rim of this crater has been worn and eroded by subsequent impacts, leaving an outer wall that has been rounded and diminished in prominence. There is a small but notable crater pair lying across the northern rim, and two other smaller craters lie along the east and south rims. There are also several small craterlets lying across the rim to the north-northwest. Where the rim is shared with Heraclitus, there is a slight inward bulge to the wall, producing a short section where the rim appears slightly flatter. The interior floor is level and nearly featureless, and much of the floor appears to have been resurfaced. This surface does not possess the low

albedo Albedo (; ) is the measure of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation out of the total solar radiation and measured on a scale from 0, corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation, to 1, corresponding to a body that refl ...

characteristic of the

lunar mare The lunar maria (; singular: mare ) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient asteroid impacts on the far side on the Moon that triggered volcanic activity on the opposite (near) side. They were dubbed , Latin for 'seas' ...

, and it matches the hue of the surrounding terrain. Instead, the floor is marked by faint traces of ray material from elsewhere.

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 Cuvier.

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * Impact craters on the Moon {{Craters on the Moon: C-F