Wurzelbauer is the remnant of 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 ...

. It was named after German astronomer

Johann Philipp von Wurzelbauer Johann Philipp von Wurzelbauer (also spelled Wurzelbaur, Wurzelbau, Wurtzelbaur, Wurtzelbau) (28 September 1651 – 21 July 1725) was a German astronomer. Biography A native of Nuremberg, Wurzelbauer was a merchant who became an astronomer. As ...

. It is located in the rugged terrain 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 ...

's southern hemisphere. The slightly smaller crater Gauricus lies next to the eastern rim, while to the north-northeast is Pitatus. The rim of this crater has been deeply eroded, and now forms a low, somewhat irregular ridge around the interior floor. Along the southeastern rim is Wurzelbauer B, while Wurzelbauer A is nearly attached to the southern rim. A short chain of craters lies across the northern rim. The western half of the interior floor is somewhat more irregular than the east, with a complex of low ridges covering parts of the surface. The western edge of the floor is marked by a section of the

ray system In planetary geology, a ray system comprises radial streaks of fine '' ejecta'' thrown out during the formation of an impact crater, looking somewhat like many thin spokes coming from the hub of a wheel. The rays may extend for lengths up to ...

radiating from Tycho to the south-southeast.

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 Wurzelbauer.

References

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External links

* {{cite web , last = Wood , first = Chuck , date = January 24, 2007 , url = http://www.lpod.org/?m=20070124 , title = One of Two Craters? , publisher = Lunar Photo of the Day , access-date = 2007-01-24 , url-status = dead , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927004704/http://www.lpod.org/?m=20070124 , archive-date = September 27, 2007 Impact craters on the Moon