Mercator 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 is located on the southwestern edge of

Mare Nubium Mare Nubium (Latin ''nūbium'', the "sea of clouds") is a lunar mare in the Nubium basin on the Moon's near side. The mare is located just to the southeast of Oceanus Procellarum. Formation The basin containing Mare Nubium is believed to ha ...

, 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 ...

. It was named after 16th-century Southern Dutch cartographer

Gerardus Mercator Gerardus Mercator (; 5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a 16th-century geographer, cosmographer and Cartography, cartographer from the County of Flanders. He is most renowned for creating the Mercator 1569 world map, 1569 world map based on ...

. It is located to the southeast of the crater Campanus, and the two are separated by a narrow, winding valley. The Rupes Mercator fault is tangential with the northeastern outer rim of Mercator. The eastern edge of Palus Epidemiarum reaches the west rim of Mercator, and a

rille Rille (German for 'groove') is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the surface of the Moon that resemble channels. The Latin term is ''rima'', plural ''rimae''. Typically, a rille can be several kilometers wid ...

from the Rimae Ramsden reaches the western rim at the site of the craterlet Mercator C. The rim of Mercator is only somewhat eroded, and several tiny craterlets lie on the west and eastern rims. The interior floor has been flooded 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 ...

in the past, leaving a relatively smooth and featureless surface.

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 Mercator.

References

* * * * * * * * * * * {{Commonscat Impact craters on the Moon