Tralles is an irregular

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 attached to the northwestern rim of the much larger crater

Cleomedes Cleomedes ( el, Κλεομήδης) was a Greek astronomer who is known chiefly for his book ''On the Circular Motions of the Celestial Bodies'' (Κυκλικὴ θεωρία μετεώρων), also known as ''The Heavens'' ( la, Caelestia). Pla ...

, in the northeastern 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 ...

. Within one crater diameter to the northwest is

Debes Debes is a surname which may refer to: * Hans Jákupsson Debes (1723–1769), Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands from 1752 to 1769 * Inge Debes (1882–1945), Norwegian jurist, editor and politician * Jens Peter Debes (1776–1832), Norwegian ju ...

. The crater is named after the German mathematician and physicist

Johann Georg Tralles Johann Georg Tralles (15 October 1763 – 19 November 1822) was a German mathematician and physicist. He was born in Hamburg, Germany and was educated at the University of Göttingen beginning in 1783. He became a professor at the University ...

. This is an oddly shaped crater formation with an irregular perimeter. The rugged interior has the appearance of three overlapping craters, with one at the south end, a second to the northeast and a third to the northwest. There are also several tiny craterlets located within the jumbled inner surface.

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 Tralles.

References

* * * * * * * * * * * {{Commons category Impact craters on the Moon