Guericke (crater)

Guericke is the remnant of a lunar impact crater at the north part of the Mare Nubium. It is named after German scientist Otto von Guericke.[1] To the north-northwest lies the large Fra Mauro crater, along with the co-joined craters Parry and Bonpland. To the east are the craters Kundt and Davy.

Guericke
Apollo 16 mapping camera image
Coordinates11.5°S 14.1°W / -11.5; -14.1
Diameter61 km[1]
Depth0.7 km
Colongitude14° at sunrise
EponymOtto von Guericke
Guericke S and J craters. This 18-km-long "figure 8" pair of noncircular craters probably was not formed by hypervelocity impacts of bodies from space. It could be a secondary impact feature formed by projectiles from the Imbrium basin 700 km to the north. The terrace at the base of the crater walls could be debris from the walls or a "bathtub ring" left by a formerly higher stand of the mare fill. Alternatively, the crater pair and the terrace could have been formed by volcanic eruptions. The superposed bright crater is younger than and unrelated to either the "figure 8" pair or the mare. (NASA image and caption)
Guericke is in upper left in this image acquired by Ranger 7, the first image of the moon by an American spacecraft. Alphonsus is at right center.

The surviving rim of Guericke has been worn, battered, and partly submerged by the basaltic lava that covers the floor. The wall is now little more than a circular series of ridges that join with rises that flow to the north, northwest, and south. The flooded crater remnant Guericke F is attached to the southwest exterior. The interior flood has a few small rises in the otherwise nearly flat surface. Two craters (Guericke D and H) mark the floor in the southwest quadrant.

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 Guericke.

Guericke Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 11.1° S 17.3° W 5 km
B 14.5° S 15.3° W 16 km
D 12.0° S 14.6° W 8 km
E 10.0° S 12.0° W 4 km
F 12.2° S 15.3° W 21 km
G 14.0° S 15.0° W 5 km
H 12.4° S 14.2° W 6 km
J 10.6° S 13.4° W 8 km
K 15.1° S 13.3° W 3 km
M 12.9° S 12.5° W 2 km
N 12.5° S 9.9° W 3 km
P 15.0° S 14.6° W 3 km
S 10.3° S 13.3° W 11 km

The following craters have been renamed by the IAU.

  • Guericke C — See Kundt.

References
  1. Guericke, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
  • Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

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