Finsen is a
lunar 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 is located in the southern
hemisphere
Hemisphere may refer to:
In geometry
* Hemisphere (geometry), a half of a sphere
As half of Earth or any spherical astronomical object
* A hemisphere of Earth
** Northern Hemisphere
** Southern Hemisphere
** Eastern Hemisphere
** Western Hemi ...
, on 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 ...
's
far side. It is attached to the southeastern exterior of the walled plain
Leibnitz
Leibnitz (; ) is a city in the Austrian States of Austria, state of Styria and on 1 Jan. 2023 had a population of 13,014. It is located to the south of the city of Graz, between the Mur (river), Mur and Sulm (Austria), Sulm rivers.
The town is ...
, and the ejecta from Finsen covers the southeastern part of Leibnitz's interior floor. To the southwest of Finsen is another walled plain,
Von Kármán, partly overlain by Leibnitz.
This is a relatively young impact crater with well-defined features that have not been significantly eroded by subsequent impacts. The rim is circular but somewhat uneven along the edge, with outward protrusions along all sides except to the north and northwest. The inner wall has slumped in places, producing a sharp rim edge in the southern half. There are also a number of short
terrace
Terrace may refer to:
Landforms and construction
* Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river
* Terrace, a street suffix
* Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...
s along the inner wall.
The inner wall is wider to the north, and so the relatively level interior floor is offset slightly to the south. At the midpoint of the crater is a central peak formation, occupying an area of roughly 15 km. This central peak has a higher
albedo
Albedo ( ; ) is the fraction of sunlight that is Diffuse reflection, diffusely reflected by a body. It is measured on a scale from 0 (corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation) to 1 (corresponding to a body that reflects ...
than the surrounding floor or rim, giving a lightened appearance. There are no significant impacts along the crater rim or within 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 Finsen.
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Craters on the Moon: C-F
Impact craters on the Moon