Schröter 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 crater ...

near the mid-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 ...

, on the eastern

Mare Insularum Mare Insularum (Latin ''īnsulārum'', the "sea of islands") is a lunar mare located in the Insularum basin just south of the western Mare Imbrium. The basin material is of the Lower Imbrian epoch, with the mare material of the Upper Imbrian epo ...

. It was named after German astronomer

Johann Hieronymus Schröter Johann Hieronymus Schröter (30 August 1745, Erfurt – 29 August 1816, Lilienthal) was a German astronomer. Life Schröter was born in Erfurt, and studied law at Göttingen University from 1762 until 1767, after which he started a ten-y ...

. It lies to the north of the craters Sömmering and Mösting. To the southeast of the crater rim is 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 wi ...

named the Rima Schröter. This cleft begins at a small crater in 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 fo ...

, then follows a line to the south-southeast. The rim of Schröter is heavily worn and eroded, with a wide gap in the southern wall and a deep indentation to the southeast. There is no central peak at the crater's midpoint. A widely spaced row of tiny craters forms a line westwards from the north rim of Schröter. Professor

W. H. Pickering William Henry Pickering (February 15, 1858 – January 16, 1938) was an American astronomer. Pickering constructed and established several observatories or astronomical observation stations, notably including Percival Lowell's Flagstaff Obser ...

produced drawings of this crater displaying eruptions of steam that he believed he witnessed. This

transient lunar phenomenon A transient lunar phenomenon (TLP) or lunar transient phenomenon (LTP) is a short-lived light, color or change in appearance on the surface of the Moon. The term was created by Patrick Moore in his co-authorship of NASA Technical Report R-277 ''C ...

was not confirmed by other observers. To the north of Schröter, beginning with the satellite crater Schröter W, is a region of irregular terrain. This area includes an array of linear dark surface markings that appear to criss-cross. In the 19th century,

Franz von Gruithuisen Baron Franz von Paula (Franciscus de Paula) Gruithuisen (19 March 1774 – 21 June 1852) was a Bavarian physician and astronomer. He taught medical students before becoming a professor of astronomy at the University of Munich in 1826. During hi ...

is noted for claiming that this area contained a lunar

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

(which he called ''Wallwerk''), based on his observations using a small

refracting telescope A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope design was originally used in spyglasses and a ...

. This inference was greeted with considerable skepticism by astronomers at the time, and, indeed, subsequent observations with more powerful instruments demonstrated that this was merely a natural feature. About 100 km to the west-northwest of Schröter is the crash site of

Surveyor 2 Surveyor 2 was to be the second lunar lander in the uncrewed American Surveyor program to explore the Moon. It was launched September 20, 1966 from Cape Kennedy, Florida aboard an Atlas-Centaur rocket. A mid-course correction failure resulted in ...

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 Schröter.

References

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External links

Schröter at The Moon Wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schroter (Lunar Crater) Impact craters on the Moon

Satellite craters

See also

References

External links