The crater was named after German astronomer Johann Elert Bode.

[1] This crater is bowl-shaped, with a small interior floor and a ridge along the inner wall to the northeast.

It has a minor ray system that extends for a distance of 130 kilometers.

There is a group of rilles located to the west of the crater named the Rimae Bode.

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Bode.