Geological Chronicle
Maurolycus is a prominent lunar impact crater in the Moon's southern highland region, an area heavily covered in overlapping impacts. Measuring 115.35 kilometers in diameter, the crater borders several neighboring formations. It is joined at its southeastern rim by the smaller crater Barocius, while the overlapping pair of Stöfler and Faraday lies due west. To the northeast sits the faint crater Buch, with Gemma Frisius positioned farther to the north.
The outer walls of Maurolycus are tall, wide, and terraced, most prominently in the eastern section. To the southeast, the rim is lower and connects to what appears to be an overlain crater rim, while the small crater Maurolycus A bites into the southern rim. Across the northwest rim lies the crater Maurolycus F, making that section of the floor more rugged than the rest. The remaining floor is relatively level, marked by a complex of central peaks, a pair of craterlets, and detections of the infrared spectrum of pure crystalline plagioclase on the floor and northern rim.
The crater is named after the 16th-century Italian mathematician Francesco Maurolico. In 1935, its designation was formally adopted by the International Astronomical Union.