Autolycus is a lunar

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

 impact crater

Impact crater

In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...

 that is located in the southeast part of Mare Imbrium

Mare Imbrium

Mare Imbrium, Latin for "Sea of Showers" or "Sea of Rains", is a vast lunar mare filling a basin on Earth's Moon and one of the larger craters in the Solar System. Mare Imbrium was created when lava flooded the giant crater formed when a very large object hit the Moon long ago...

. West of the formation is Archimedes

Archimedes (crater)

Archimedes is a large lunar impact crater on the eastern edges of the Mare Imbrium. To the south of the crater extends the Montes Archimedes mountainous region. On the southeastern rim is the Palus Putredinis flooded plain, containing a system of rilles named the Rimae Archimedes that extend over...

, a formation more than double the size of Autolycus. Just to the north is Aristillus

Aristillus (crater)

Aristillus is a prominent lunar impact crater that lies in the eastern Mare Imbrium. Directly to the south is the smaller crater Autolycus, while to the southwest is the large Archimedes. The area of mare to the southwest is named the Sinus Lunicus...

, and the outer ramparts of these two craters overlap in the intermediate stretch of the lunar mare

Lunar mare

The lunar maria are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. They were dubbed maria, Latin for "seas", by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas. They are less reflective than the "highlands" as a result of their iron-rich compositions, and...

.

The rim of Autolycus is somewhat irregular, although generally circular overall. It has a small outer rampart and an irregular interior with no central peak. It possesses a light ray system

Ray system

A ray system comprises radial streaks of fine ejecta thrown out during the formation of an impact crater, looking a bit like many thin spokes coming from the hub of a wheel. The rays can extend for lengths up to several times the diameter of their originating crater, and are often accompanied by...

 that extends for a distance of over 400 kilometers. Some of the ray material appears to overlay the flooded floor of Archimedes.

The Luna 2

Luna 2

Luna 2 was the second of the Soviet Union's Luna programme spacecraft launched to the Moon. It was the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon...

probe crash-landed just to the west-southwest of the crater rim.

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 Autolycus.

Autolycus	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	30.9° N	2.2° E	4 km
K	31.2° N	5.4° E	3 km