Gruithuisen (crater)

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Crater characteristics
Gruithuisen crater. NASA photo.
Coordinates	32.9° N, 39.7° W
Diameter	16 km
Depth	1.9 km
Colongitude	40° at sunrise
Eponym	Franz von Gruithuisen

Gruithausen is a tiny lunar crater that lies on the section of lunar mare that joins Oceanus Procellarum in the west to Mare Imbrium in the east. Southeast of Gruithuisen is the small Delisle crater. To the south is Dorsum Bucher, a wrinkle-ridge running in a north-south direction for about 90 kilometers.

The rim of Gruithuisen is relatively smooth and circular, projecting only slightly above the surrounding mare. The interior is relatively featureless with a small floor, with mounds of material deposited along the edges of the sloping inner walls.

To the north of the crater, along the edge of the highland peninsula between the two maria is a domed mountainous rise that is designated Mons Gruithuisen Gamma (Γ). Just to the east of this feature is another mountainous rise named Mons Gruithuisen Delta (δ). Northwest of Gruithuisen crater is concentrated cluster of several craterlets, which was most likely formed from a single body that broke up just prior to impact.

[edit] Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Gruithuisen crater.

Gruithuisen	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
B	35.6° N	38.8° W	9 km
E	37.3° N	44.3° W	8 km
F	36.3° N	37.9° W	4 km
G	36.6° N	43.9° W	6 km
H	33.3° N	38.4° W	6 km
K	35.3° N	42.7° W	6 km
M	36.9° N	43.2° W	7 km
P	37.1° N	40.5° W	11 km
R	37.1° N	45.3° W	7 km
S	37.5° N	45.6° W	7 km

[edit] References

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• Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
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• Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, 6th revision, Dover. ISBN 0-486-20917-2. 
• Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62248-4. 
• Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 1852331933.