Birmingham (crater)

Birmingham is the surviving remnant of a lunar impact crater. It is named after the astronomer John Birmingham (not, as is often stated, the British city nor its Alabama namesake). The crater is located near the northern limb of the Moon, and so is viewed from the Earth at a low angle.

All that survives of the original formation is an irregular perimeter of low, indented ridges surrounding the lava-resurfaced interior. The inner floor is marked by several tiny craterlets, and the surface is unusually rough for a walled plain. The low angle of illumination allows fine details of this boulder-strewn field to be seen more clearly.