Murchison 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 ...

on the north edge of the

Sinus Medii Sinus Medii (Latin ''sinus mediī'' "Middle Bay") is a small lunar mare. It takes its name from its location at the intersection of the Moon's equator and prime meridian; as seen from the Earth, this feature is located in the central part of the ...

. It was named in honour of the geologist

Sir Roderick Murchison Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet, (19 February 1792 – 22 October 1871) was a Scottish geologist who served as director-general of the British Geological Survey from 1855 until his death in 1871. He is noted for investigating and ...

. It shares a section of rim with the crater

Pallas Pallas may refer to: Astronomy * 2 Pallas asteroid ** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas * Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon Mythology * Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena * Pa ...

. To the southeast on the

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

is the circular crater

Chladni Ernst Florens Friedrich Chladni (, , ; 30 November 1756 – 3 April 1827) was a German physicist and musician. His most important work, for which he is sometimes labeled as the father of acoustics, included research on vibrating plates a ...

, and to the northeast is Ukert. Farther to the east is the prominent Triesnecker. Murchison lies astride the lunar zenith line, i.e. the starting longitude of the

selenographic coordinate system The selenographic coordinate system is used to refer to locations on the surface of Earth's moon. Any position on the lunar surface can be referenced by specifying two numerical values, which are comparable to the latitude and longitude of Earth. ...

. The wall of Murchison is heavily worn and has completely disappeared in a wide gap to the southeast. The rim is most intact along the northeast part of the crater, but even there it is indented and irregular. Only a ridge remains of the rim shared by Pallas and Murchison, with gaps to the north and south. A low ridge from the east wall runs south to join the rim of Chladni. The crater floor has been flooded with

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 joins the Sinus Medii through the wide gap in the southeast wall.

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 Murchison.

References

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External links

Murchison at The Moon Wiki
* * {{cite web, last = Wood , first = Chuck , date =April 8, 2010 , url = https://lpod.wikispaces.com/April+8%2C+2010 , title = Textured Ejecta , publisher = Lunar Photo of the Day - Rima Bode, also includes Murchison Crater Impact craters on the Moon