Bunsen (crater)

Bunsen

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image
Coordinates	41°24′N85°28′W / 41.40°N 85.46°W / 41.40; -85.46
Diameter	55.22 km (34.31 mi)
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	86° at sunrise
Eponym	Robert 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. Due to its position this crater appears foreshortened when viewed from the Earth, and its visibility is affected by libration.

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, and has a fracture system ^[1] of criss-crossing clefts near the northern and southern rims. There is a low ridge near the southwest corner of the interior.

Bunsen was formally named by the IAU in 1964 after Robert W. Bunsen. ^[2]

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.

Bunsen	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. ^[3]

References

1. The geologic history of the Moon, 1987, Wilhelms, Don E.; with sections by McCauley, John F.; Trask, Newell J. USGS Professional Paper: 1348. (online)
2. Bunsen, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
3. Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A), 2nd Edition October 1967

• Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
• Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS . Retrieved 2007-08-05.
• Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-81528-4.
• Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN   978-0-936389-27-1.
• McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report . Retrieved 2007-10-24.
• Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (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.
• Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN   978-0-304-35469-6.
• Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-33500-3.
• Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN   978-0-913135-17-4.
• Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN   978-0-486-20917-3.
• Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-62248-6.
• Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN   978-1-85233-193-1.

External links

• Media related to Bunsen (crater) at Wikimedia Commons