Geological Chronicle
Bunsen lies near the northwestern limb of the Moon, west of Oceanus Procellarum and the crater von Braun, with Lavoisier to the southeast and Gerard to the northeast. Because of this position near the edge, the crater appears foreshortened from Earth, with its visibility affected by libration. Measuring 55.22 kilometers across, the feature sits southeast of McLaughlin, which lies across the limb on the far side of the Moon.
Subsequent impacts have worn and eroded the formation, leaving a structure described as disintegrated. Its most intact rim segment runs along the northeastern side, while a smaller crater-like formation intrudes into the southeastern wall. Inside, tiny impacts pit the floor, alongside a fracture system of criss-crossing clefts near the northern and southern rims and a low ridge near the southwest corner.
The crater is named after German chemist Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen. David W. G. Arthur and Ewen Whitaker introduced his name into lunar nomenclature in the Rectified Lunar Atlas in 1963, and the International Astronomical Union formally adopted the designation in 1964.