Widmannstätten 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 ...
in the southern part of the
Mare Smythii
Mare Smythii (Latin for "Smyth's Sea") is a lunar mare located along the equator on the easternmost edge of the Moon's near side. It is named for the 19th-century British astronomer William Henry Smyth. The Smythii basin where the mare is located ...
, near the eastern limb 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 ...
. The rim of this crater has a wide gap along the western side, where it is joined to the larger
Kiess. There is also a gap in the northern rim where the crater floor is joined to the adjacent
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' ...
. The dark interior floor of this formation has been 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 a level interior surface and a shallow surviving rim.
The craters Kiess and Widmannstätten were referred to as ''Wright Brothers'', such as by the crew of Apollo 17, prior to being officially named by the IAU in 1973.
[Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN]
KiessWidmannstätten
/ref>
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Widmannstatten (crater)
Impact craters on the Moon