Bunsen (crater)

Bunsen
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image
Coordinates41°24′N 85°28′W / 41.40°N 85.46°W / 41.40; -85.46
Diameter55.22 km (34.31 mi)[1]
DepthUnknown
Colongitude86° at sunrise
EponymRobert W. Bunsen
Lunar Orbiter 4 image

Bunsen is a lunar impact crater that lies near the northwestern limb of the Moon. It is located to the west of the Oceanus Procellarum and the crater von Braun. To the southeast is the crater Lavoisier, and to the northeast lies Gerard. Northwest of Bunsen, on the far side of the Moon, is McLaughlin.[2] Due to its position this crater appears foreshortened when viewed from the Earth,[3] and its visibility is affected by libration.[4]

This crater has become considerably worn and eroded by subsequent impacts, leaving a formation that has been described as disintegrated. The most intact portion of the rim is along the northeastern side. There is a smaller, crater-like formation intruding into the southeastern rim. Within the crater, the floor is pitted by tiny impacts,[5]: 22  and has a fracture system[6] of criss-crossing clefts near the northern and southern rims. There is a low ridge near the southwest corner of the interior.

This crater is named after German chemist Robert W. Bunsen (1811–1899).[7] His name was introduced into lunar nomenclature by David W. G. Arthur and Ewen Whitaker with the Rectified Lunar Atlas (1963).[3][8] Its designation was formally adopted by the IAU in 1964.[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 Bunsen.[9]

Bunsen[5]: 294  Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 43.2° N 88.9° W 39 km
B 44.2° N 88.2° W 20 km
C 44.2° N 90.0° W 18 km
D 40.9° N 86.9° W 14 km

An unnamed crater underlying Bunsen A, B, and C was called Crater 109.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 "Bunsen". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ↑ Byrne, Charles J. (2008). The Far Side of the Moon. Springer. p. 174. ISBN 978-1-4899-8806-5.
  3. 1 2 Whitaker, E. A.; et al. (1963). Rectified Lunar Atlas: Supplement No. 2 to the Photographic Lunar Atlas. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Retrieved 2026-06-01. See Field 1.
  4. ↑ Grego, Peter (2005). The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers' Observing Guides Series. London: Springer-Verlag. p. 171. ISBN 1-85233-748-6.
  5. 1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  6. ↑ Wilhelms, Don E.; McCauley, John F.; Trask, Newell J. (1987). The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. doi:10.3133/pp1348.
  7. ↑ Menzel, D. H.; et al. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID 122125855. See p. 182.
  8. ↑ Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. p. 234. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  9. ↑ Grego, P. (2015). "Satellite Crater". In Hargitai, H.; Kereszturi, Á. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_328.
  10. ↑ "Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A)". Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1) Series (2nd ed.). Lunar and Planetary Institute. October 1967. Retrieved 2026-06-18.
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