Buch (crater)

Buch
	Lunar Orbiter 4 image of Buch crater and surroundings with Buch B at top center
Coordinates	38°48′S 17°42′E / 38.8°S 17.7°E
Diameter	51.31 km (31.88 mi)
Depth	1.4 km (0.87 mi)
Colongitude	343° at sunrise
Eponym	Leopold von Buch

Buch is an old, worn crater that is located in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. It lies to the northeast of the large crater Maurolycus, and the comparably sized crater Büsching is attached to the northeast rim.^[2]

The crater rim is slightly elongated in the northeastern direction, and forms an egg-shaped depression in the surface. The rim has been eroded by many lesser impacts so that the edge is rounded and worn down, and the crater forms only a low depression in the ground. Within the crater the floor is relatively flat and featureless, with no central peak at the midpoint. There is a tiny crater near the northern inner wall.^[3]^: 113

It has been noted (by Shoemaker and others) that the satellite crater Buch B is unusual in that it possesses both a dark halo of material around the rim and appears to have formed some dark rays. Early speculation was that this may be volcanic in nature, but it was later demonstrated to be a typical impact crater that was formed over a pocket of darker material.^[4]^[5]

This formation is named after German geologist Leopold von Buch (1774-1853). Its name was incorporated into lunar nomenclature by German astronomer J. H. von Mädler during the 19th century.^[6] Its designation was formally adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1935.^[1]

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 Buch.^[7]

Buch^[3]^: 294	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	41.0° S	17.6° E	19 km
B	37.8° S	17.0° E	6 km
C	37.3° S	17.2° E	28 km
D	39.6° S	16.5° E	7 km
E	39.0° S	16.5° E	6 km

Buch B dates to the Copernican period and has a meteoritic iron-rich impact melt.^[8]

References

1 2 "Buch". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
↑ Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
↑ Hawke, B. Ray; et al. (December 2002). "Igneous activity in the southern highlands of the Moon". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 107 (E12) 5122. Bibcode:2002JGRE..107.5122H. doi:10.1029/2000JE001494.
↑ Wood, Chuck (March 12, 2006). "Volcanism in the Southern Highlands?". Lunar Picture of the Day. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
↑ Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. pp. 120, 219. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
↑ Grego, P. (2015). "Satellite Crater". In Hargitai, H.; Kereszturi, Á. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. New York, NY: Springer. pp. 1858–1859. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_328. ISBN 978-1-4614-3133-6.
↑ Hu, Haojin; et al. (November 2025). "Lunar highland preserves meteoritic-iron-rich materials in the Earth─Moon system". The Astrophysical Journal. 993 (1). id. 148. Bibcode:2025ApJ...993..148H. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae08b5.

Sources

Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.

External links

[GPN-1] 1 2 "Buch". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.

[Moore_2001-2] Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.

[Bussey_Spudis_2004-3] 1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.

[Hawke_et_al_2002-4] Hawke, B. Ray; et al. (December 2002). "Igneous activity in the southern highlands of the Moon". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 107 (E12) 5122. Bibcode:2002JGRE..107.5122H. doi:10.1029/2000JE001494.

[vulcanism-5] Wood, Chuck (March 12, 2006). "Volcanism in the Southern Highlands?". Lunar Picture of the Day. Retrieved 2026-04-24.

[Whitaker_1999-6] Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. pp. 120, 219. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.

[Grego_2015-7] Grego, P. (2015). "Satellite Crater". In Hargitai, H.; Kereszturi, Á. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. New York, NY: Springer. pp. 1858–1859. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_328. ISBN 978-1-4614-3133-6.

[Hu_et_al_2025-8] Hu, Haojin; et al. (November 2025). "Lunar highland preserves meteoritic-iron-rich materials in the Earth─Moon system". The Astrophysical Journal. 993 (1). id. 148. Bibcode:2025ApJ...993..148H. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae08b5.

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