Tempel is the remnant of 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 ...
whose outer rim has been eroded, indented, and reshaped by subsequent impacts and
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 ...
flows. It is attached to the eastern rim of the crater
Agrippa Agrippa may refer to:
People Antiquity
* Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa
* Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century
* Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century
* Agri ...
, in an area that has been resurfaced by old lava flows. To the southwest is
Godin, and to the east lies the small, bowl-shaped
Whewell
William Whewell ( ; 24 May 17946 March 1866) was an English polymath, scientist, Anglican priest, philosopher, theologian, and historian of science. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. In his time as a student there, he achieved dist ...
. Its diameter is 43 km. The crater was named after German astronomer
Wilhelm Tempel
Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel (4 December 1821 – 16 March 1889), normally known as Wilhelm Tempel, was a German astronomer who worked in Marseille until the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, then later moved to Italy.
Tempel was b ...
.
There is a gap in the northwestern rim of Tempel that forms a protrusion that follows the rim of Agrippa. Smaller gaps exist in the southern rim, and the relatively flat interior surface of the crater is joined by these valley clefts to the lava-covered exterior. From here the flow can be followed eastwards until it joins the
Mare Tranquillitatis
Mare Tranquillitatis (Latin ''tranquillitātis'', the Sea of Tranquillity or Sea of Tranquility; see spelling differences) is a lunar mare that sits within the Tranquillitatis basin on the Moon. It is the first location on another world to be ...
. Little of the original rim remains intact, and the formation is now a somewhat circular range of rounded, irregular ridges.
References
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External links
Tempel at The Moon Wiki*
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Impact craters on the Moon