Clausius is a

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

impact crater that is located in the southwest part of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, in the small lunar mare designated

Lacus Excellentiae Lacus Excellentiae (Latin ''excellentiae'', "Lake of Excellence") is a relatively small, irregular lunar mare in the southern latitudes of the Moon, amidst the rugged terrain to the south of the larger Mare Humorum. The most prominent feature w ...

. It is completely enclosed by mare material, although the tiny satellite crater Clausius A lies just to the north. The rim of Clausius is low and sharp, with a slightly oval shape that is longer in the north–south direction. The interior floor has been flooded by

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

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 un ...

, and appears level and featureless with a darker surface that matches the mare surface that surrounds the crater exterior. It´s named after German physicist and mathematician

Rudolf Clausius Rudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius (; 2 January 1822 – 24 August 1888) was a German physicist and mathematician and is considered one of the central founding fathers of the science of thermodynamics. By his restatement of Sadi Carnot's principle ...

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 Clausius.

External links

LAC-110
lunar chart from Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * Impact craters on the Moon {{Craters on the Moon: C-F