Maunder 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 is located 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 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 ...

, just beyond the western limb. This region is sometimes brought into view during favorable

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 ...

s, but not much detail can be seen. The crater lies at the northern end of the

Mare Orientale Mare Orientale (Latin ''orientāle'', the "eastern sea") is a lunar mare. It is located on the western border of the near side and far side of the Moon, and is difficult to see from an Earthbound perspective. Images from spacecraft have revea ...

, within the ring of mountains named

Montes Rook Montes Rook is a ring-shaped mountain range that lies along the western limb of the Moon, crossing over to the far side. It completely encircles the Mare Orientale, and forms part of a massive impact basin feature. This range in turn is encircle ...

, and it is the largest crater on this

lunar mare The lunar maria ( ; mare ) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by lava flowing into ancient impact basins. They are less reflective than the "highlands" as a result of their iron-rich composition, and hence appear dark to ...

. To the southeast is the crater Kopff, and due south is the small Hohmann. The rim of Maunder is roughly circular, with a sharp edge that has not been significantly eroded. The inner walls are somewhat

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 ...

d, and slump down to a rough but level interior floor. At the midpoint of the crater is a double central peak, with the northeastern peak being the larger of the two. Surrounding the crater is a rough outer

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department ** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...

that mixes with the rugged terrain along the northern half of the rim. Secondary impacts are visible in the surface to the south. Maunder is a crater of

Eratosthenian The Eratosthenian period in the lunar geologic timescale runs from 3,200 million years ago to 1,100 million years ago. It is named after the crater Eratosthenes, which displays characteristics typical of craters of this age, including a surface ...

age.

Name origin

The crater was named after

Annie Maunder Annie Scott Dill Maunder (; 14 April 1868 – 15 September 1947) was an Irish-British astronomer, who recorded the first evidence of the movement of the sunspot emergence from the poles toward the equator over the 11-year solar cycle, finding t ...

, a

Northern Irish The people of Northern Ireland are all people born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Nationality Law, British citizen, an Irish nationality law, Irish citizen or is otherwis ...

astronomer who worked alongside her husband,

Edward Walter Maunder Edward Walter Maunder (12 April 1851 – 21 March 1928) was a British astronomer. His study of sunspots and the solar magnetic cycle led to his identification of the period from 1645 to 1715 that is now known as the Maunder Minimum. Early and ...

, at the end of the 19th century. Edward Maunder identified the period of colder climate from 1645 to 1715 that is now known as the Maunder Minimum. The name of the crater was approved 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 1970.

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 Maunder. The following craters have been renamed by the

. * Maunder Z — ''See'' Couder (crater).

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Impact craters on the Moon