Repsold 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 at the western end of the

Oceanus Procellarum Oceanus Procellarum ( la, Ōceanus procellārum, lit=Ocean of Storms) is a vast lunar mare on the western edge of the near side of the Moon. It is the only one of the lunar maria to be called an "Oceanus" (ocean), due to its size: Oceanus Proc ...

. It lies to the northeast of the crater

Galvani Luigi Galvani (, also ; ; la, Aloysius Galvanus; 9 September 1737 – 4 December 1798) was an Italian physician, physicist, biologist and philosopher, who studied animal electricity. In 1780, he discovered that the muscles of dead frogs' legs ...

and southeast of the walled plain

Volta Volta may refer to: Persons * Alessandro Volta (1745–1827), Italian physicist and inventor of the electric battery, count and eponym of the volt * Giovanni Volta (1928–2012), Italian Roman Catholic bishop * Giovanni Serafino Volta (1764–184 ...

. Due to its proximity to the northwestern limb 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 ...

, this crater appears highly foreshortened when viewed from the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

. It is named after

Johann Georg Repsold Johann Georg Repsold (19 September 1770 – 14 January 1830) was a German astronomer and fireman. He began to make astronomic instruments mainly for his own use and his third son Adolf Repsold went on to establish a well-known astronomical i ...

(1770 – 1830), a German astronomer. This crater has been heavily damaged by impacts and much of the rim has disintegrated, leaving a rugged region of small craters. The most intact section of the rim is in the southeastern part, which separates this formation from the adjacent mare. The satellite crater Repsold G overlies the southwestern part of the crater. The interior floor of Repsold contains a system of

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 ...

s named the Rimae Repsold. The most prominent of these rifts begins in the northeastern part of the floor and crosses to the southwest. The cleft then traverses Repsold G, dividing it into two, and continues west-southwest until it penetrates into the floor of Galvani. The entire rille system has a diameter of 166 kilometers. Much of the floor of Repsold is level terrain formed by flows of

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 ...

, which then cracked to form the rille system. However the floor is marked by several small craters and there are some areas containing low ridges, including a small range in the eastern floor.

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 Repsold.

References

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External links

* {{cite web , last = Wood , first = Chuck , date = November 8, 2007 , url = http://www2.lpod.org/wiki/November_8,_2007 , title = The Flood Begins , publisher = Lunar Photo of the Day , access-date = 2007-11-08 Impact craters on the Moon