Gutenberg 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 An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...

that lies along the west edge of

Mare Fecunditatis Mare Fecunditatis (Latin ''fēcunditātis'', the "Sea of Fecundity" or "Sea of Fertility") is a lunar mare in the eastern half of the visible Moon. The mare has a maximum diameter of 840 km. __NOTOC__ Description The Fecunditatis basin forme ...

, in the eastern part of the visible

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 ...

. It is named after German inventor

Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and Artisan, craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable type, movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its ki ...

. To the southeast are the craters

Goclenius Goclenius may refer to: * Conrad Goclenius (1490-1539), German humanist * Rudolf Goclenius the Elder (1547–1628), German scholastic philosopher * Rudolf Goclenius, Jr. (1572–1621), German physician and professor of physics, medicine and mathema ...

, Magelhaens and

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. To the west-southwest is the crater Gaudibert, across the

Montes Pyrenaeus Montes Pyrenaeus is a mountain range on the Moon. The range begins at the southwestern rim of the flooded crater Gutenberg at the northern end and extends southward bordering the eastern edge of Mare Nectaris. The selenographic coordinates of th ...

that run south from Gutenberg. AS11-42-6313

The rim of Gutenberg is worn and eroded, most notably in the east where it is broken by the overlapping crater Gutenberg E. This crater in turn has gaps in its southeast and southwest rims, forming a passage to the

lunar mare The lunar maria (; singular: mare ) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient asteroid impacts on the far side on the Moon that triggered volcanic activity on the opposite (near) side. They were dubbed , Latin for 'seas' ...

to the east. There are also clefts and valleys in the southern rim where it joins Gutenberg C. The crater Gutenberg A intrudes into the southwest rim. The floors of Gutenberg and Gutenberg E have been flooded in the past by

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 ...

, forming a relatively flat plain across the bottom. This surface is broken across the northeast by a pair of clefts that form a part of the Rimae Goclenius. These extend northwest from the Goclenius region. The central rise of Gutenberg is a semi-circular range of hills that are the most prominent in the south, and the concave part lies open to the east. The floor is otherwise not marred by any significant craters.

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 Gutenberg.

References

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External links

{{Commons category * Lunar Photo of the Day,
Land of Manna
, October 5, 2006, showing Gutenberg and vicinity Impact craters on the Moon Johannes Gutenberg