The western inner wall of Al-Khwarizmi is much wider than along the eastern side. The eastern rim overlays a pair of craters, including Al-Khwarizmi J. The outer wall is somewhat distorted from a circular shape, including a double-rim in the south. There is a small central peak at the midpoint, which forms part of a low ridge that bends to the northeast. Several tiny craterlets lie in the northern part of the interior floor. The floor to the southeast is somewhat smoother and free of significant impacts.
The crater was named for the Persian mathematician and astronomer Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi.[3] The crater had previously been informally referred to as Arabia, such as during the Apollo 17 mission.[4]
Satellite craters
al-Khwarizmi and its satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Al-Khwarizmi.
^"Al-Khwarizmi". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
^Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report (NASA Special Publication 330). Scientific and Technical Information Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C. 1973. Chapter 28.
Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID122125855.