Buch (crater)
Encyclopedia
Buch is an old, worn crater
that is located in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon
. It lies to the northeast of the large crater Maurolycus
, and the comparably sized crater Büsching
is attached to the northeast rim.
The crater rim is slightly elongated in the northeastern direction, and forms an egg-shaped depression in the surface. The rim has been eroded by many lesser impacts so that the edge is rounded and worn down, and the crater forms only a low depression in the ground. Within the crater the floor is relatively flat and featureless, with no central peak at the mid-point. There is only a small craterlet near the northwest rim.
It has been noted (by Shoemaker and others) that the satellite crater Buch B is unusual in that it possesses both a dark halo of material around the rim and appears to have formed some dark rays. Early speculation was that this may be volcanic
in nature, but it was later demonstrated to be a typical impact crater
that was formed over a pocket of darker material.
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 rugged southern highlands of the Moon
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...
. It lies to the northeast of the large crater Maurolycus
Maurolycus (crater)
Maurolycus is one of the more prominent lunar craters in the southern highland region of the Moon that is covered in overlapping crater impacts. It is joined at the southeast rim by the smaller crater Barocius. Due west lie the overlapping pair of Stöfler and Faraday...
, and the comparably sized crater Büsching
Büsching (crater)
Büsching is a lunar impact crater that is located in the crater-covered southern highlands of the Moon. The similar-sized crater Buch is located adjacent to its southwestern rim, and further to the southwest lies Maurolycus....
is attached to the northeast rim.
The crater rim is slightly elongated in the northeastern direction, and forms an egg-shaped depression in the surface. The rim has been eroded by many lesser impacts so that the edge is rounded and worn down, and the crater forms only a low depression in the ground. Within the crater the floor is relatively flat and featureless, with no central peak at the mid-point. There is only a small craterlet near the northwest rim.
It has been noted (by Shoemaker and others) that the satellite crater Buch B is unusual in that it possesses both a dark halo of material around the rim and appears to have formed some dark rays. Early speculation was that this may be volcanic
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
in nature, but it was later demonstrated to be a typical 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 was formed over a pocket of darker material.
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 Buch.| Buch | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 41.0° S | 17.6° E | 19 km |
| B | 37.8° S | 17.0° E | 6 km |
| C | 37.3° S | 17.2° E | 28 km |
| D | 39.6° S | 16.5° E | 7 km |
| E | 39.0° S | 16.5° E | 6 km |