Struve is the lava-flooded remains of 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 ...

. It is located near the western extreme of the

Oceanus Procellarum Oceanus Procellarum ( la, Ōceanus procellārum, lit=Ocean of Storms) 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 Proc ...

, close to the western lunar limb. As a consequence, even though it is roughly circular in outline, it appears oval due to foreshortening. The northern rim of this crater intersects the smaller

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock ( magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...

-flooded crater Russell to the north, and there is now a wide gap between the two formations. Attached to the southeast rim is the remains of another lava-flooded formation,

Eddington Eddington or Edington may refer to: People * Eddington Varmah, Liberian politician * Eddington (surname), people with the surname Places Australia * Eddington, Victoria United Kingdom * Eddington, Berkshire * Eddington, Cambridge * E ...

. Farther to the southwest is Balboa, near the lunar limb. The rim of Struve is heavily worn and irregular, with several gaps connecting to the surrounding

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than f ...

. It resembles little more than a circular mountain range, climbing to a maximum height of 1.7 km. There are several small impact craters within the wall, most notably in the southeast part of the crater. The crater Struve G overlaps the inner part of the western rim, and just to the north of this crater is a gap in the wall that connects to the

between the rims of Russell and Eddington. On older maps this formation was named Otto Struve. It now honors three members of the same family, all astronomers.

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 Struve.

References

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