Kirchhoff is a small

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 is located in the northern part of the

Montes Taurus Montes Taurus is a rugged, jumbled mountainous region on the Moon. It is located to the east of the Mare Serenitatis, in the northeastern quadrant of the Moon's near side. Coordinates of their center are , and their extent is about 170 km. ...

range. It was named after German physicist

Gustav Kirchhoff Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (; 12 March 1824 – 17 October 1887) was a German chemist, mathematician, physicist, and spectroscopist who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy and the emission of black-body ...

. It lies to the west of the crater Newcomb, and southeast of the crater pair of

Hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...

and G. Bond. This is a circular, bowl-shaped feature that lies in the midst of rugged lunar terrain. The satellite crater Kirchhoff C adjoins the eastern rim. There is a low rise at the midpoint of the interior floor.

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 Kirchhoff. Kirchhoff lunar crater map

References

* * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Impact craters on the Moon Gustav Kirchhoff