Herschel (lunar crater) explained
Herschel is a lunar impact crater located just to the north of the walled plain Ptolemaeus. Its diameter is 39 km. It was named after German-born British astronomer William Herschel.
Just to the north is the flooded crater Spörer, and around 30 km due east lies the disintegrated crater Gyldén. About a crater diameter to the northwest (35 km) is the walled plain Flammarion, along the southern edge of the Sinus Medii.
The rim of this crater is generally circular, although the western side is straight. It has a well-defined edge that is not significantly worn, and the inner walls are terraced. On the rough inner floor is a notable central rise. This peak is offset slightly to the west of the crater midpoint. The small crater Herschel G is attached to the south-southwest rim, and a tiny craterlet lies across the southern rim.
Herschel is a crater of Eratosthenian age.[1]
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 Herschel.
| Herschel | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|
| C | 5.0° S | 3.2° W | 10 km |
| D | 5.3° S | 4.0° W | 20 km |
| F | 5.8° S | 4.4° W | 7 km |
| G | 6.5° S | 2.4° W | 14 km |
| H | 6.3° S | 3.4° W | 5 km |
| J | 6.4° S | 4.3° W | 5 km |
| N | 5.2° S | 1.1° W | 15 km |
| X | 5.3° S | 2.7° W | 3 km | |
References
- Book: Andersson . L. E. . Whitaker . E. A. . Ewen Whitaker . 1982 . NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature . NASA RP-1097 .
- Book: Bussey . B. . Ben Bussey . Spudis . P. . Paul Spudis . 2004 . The Clementine Atlas of the Moon . . New York . 978-0-521-81528-4 .
- Book: Cocks . Elijah E. . Cocks . Josiah C. . 1995 . Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature . Tudor Publishers . 978-0-936389-27-1 .
- Web site: McDowell . Jonathan . July 15, 2007 . Lunar Nomenclature . . 2007-10-24 .
- Menzel. D. H.. Minnaert. M.. Levin. B.. Dollfus. A.. Bell. B.. Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU. 10.1007/BF00171763. Space Science Reviews. 12. 2. 136–186. 1971. 1971SSRv...12..136M. 122125855.
- Book: Moore
, Patrick
. Patrick Moore . 2001 . On the Moon . . 978-0-304-35469-6 .
- Book: Price
, Fred W.
. 1988 . The Moon Observer's Handbook . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-33500-3 .
- Book: Rükl
, Antonín
. Antonín Rükl . 1990 . Atlas of the Moon . . 978-0-913135-17-4 .
- Book: Webb
, Rev. T. W.
. Thomas William Webb . 1962 . Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes . 6th revised . Dover . 978-0-486-20917-3 .
- Book: Whitaker
, Ewen A.
. Ewen Whitaker . 1999 . Mapping and Naming the Moon . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-62248-6 .
- Book: Wlasuk
, Peter T.
. 2000 . Observing the Moon . Springer . 978-1-85233-193-1 .
External links
Notes and References
- https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1348 The geologic history of the Moon
