Wolf 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 lies in the south-central part of the
Mare Nubium
Mare Nubium (Latin ''nūbium'', the "sea of clouds") is a lunar mare in the Nubium basin on the Moon's near side. The mare is located just to the southeast of Oceanus Procellarum.
Formation
The basin containing Mare Nubium is believed to ha ...
, a
lunar mare
The lunar maria (; singular: mare ) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient asteroid impacts on the far side on the Moon that triggered volcanic activity on the opposite (near) side. They were dubbed , Latin for 'seas' ...
in the southern hemisphere 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 ...
. It lies to the north-northwest of the walled plain
Pitatus, and east-southeast of the prominent crater
Bullialdus. It is named after the German astronomer
Max Wolf
Maximilian Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf (21 June 1863 – 3 October 1932) was a German astronomer and a pioneer in the field of astrophotography. He was the chairman of astronomy at the University of Heidelberg and director of the Heidelberg-Kà ...
.
The interior floor of this crater has been completely flooded by
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 ...
, leaving only an irregular, broken rim projecting slightly above the surface. The surviving rim is not quite circular, having outward bulges to the north and west. It rises to a maximum height of about 0.7 km. The smaller crater Wolf B has overlaid the southern rim, and the two have now merged into one formation. Low ridges connect to the exterior rim to the east and south.
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 Wolf.
See also
*
827 Wolfiana
*
1217 Maximiliana
*
Mons Wolff
Montes Apenninus are a rugged mountain range on the northern part of the Moon's near side. They are named after the Apennine Mountains in Italy. With their formation dating back about 3.9 billion years, Montes Apenninus are fairly old.
Descri ...
(Montes Apenninus)
References
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External links
{{Commonscat
Wolf at The Moon Wiki
Impact craters on the Moon