Spallanzani 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 ...
located in the rugged, crater-marked terrain 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 ...
's southern hemisphere. It was named after Italian natural scientist and biologist
Lazzaro Spallanzani
Lazzaro Spallanzani (; 12 January 1729 – 11 February 1799) was an Italian Catholic priest (for which he was nicknamed Abbé Spallanzani), biologist and physiologist who made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily function ...
.
To the southeast is the prominent crater
Pitiscus, and to the north is
Nicolai.
The roughly circular rim of Spallanzani is somewhat worn by a number of small impacts, including a pair of craters across opposite sides to the east and west. There are a pair of slight outward bulges along the western rim. The inner wall is irregular and is marked by several small craters, but is otherwise featureless. The interior floor is level and marked only by a few tiny, poisonous red 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 Spallanzani.
References
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{{Commonscat, Spallanzani (crater)
Impact craters on the Moon