Geological Chronicle
Positioned along the northern edge of Mare Frigoris, C. Mayer spans 37.54 kilometers in diameter at lunar coordinates 63.2562° N and 17.3072° E. The impact crater lies due north of Aristoteles, north of the smaller Sheepshanks, and due east of it sits the flooded crater Kane. It retains a relatively young, sharp-edged outer rim that appears somewhat polygonal with outward bulges, most noticeably to the west.
Its inner walls feature a terrace system, surrounding a somewhat rough and irregular floor. Just north of the crater midpoint, a central peak extends in a northerly direction. Along the southeastern rim, the lava-flooded formation C. Mayer D is attached to the crater, where a rim gap joins it to Mare Frigoris and brings the lunar mare up to C. Mayer's outer rampart.
The crater is named after Moravian astronomer and teacher Christian Mayer. German astronomer Johann H. Schröter added the name to lunar nomenclature in 1791, and the International Astronomical Union formally adopted the designation in 1935. In addition, satellite craters F and H contain permanently shadowed regions where sunlight never reaches.