Lexell crater and its satellite craters taken from Earth in 2012 at the University of Hertfordshire's Bayfordbury Observatory with the telescopes Meade LX200 14" and Lumenera Skynyx 2-1 | |
Coordinates | 35°48′S4°12′W / 35.8°S 4.2°W Coordinates: 35°48′S4°12′W / 35.8°S 4.2°W |
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Diameter | 63 km |
Depth | 2.2 km |
Colongitude | 5° at sunrise |
Eponym | Anders Johan Lexell |
Lexell is a lunar impact crater that lies across the southeastern rim of the huge walled plain Deslandres, in the southern part of the Moon. It was named after Swedish-Russian mathematician and astronomer Anders Johan Lexell. [1] To the northeast is the walled plain Walther, and to the south is Orontius, another walled plain.
This is a somewhat irregular formation with a wide break in the northern rim. The western rim forms a low, arcing wall, and is overlain to the southwest by Lexell H after passing the rim of Deslandres. The rim peaks along the southeast, then comes to an end at a rugged promontory-like ridge. The interior floor has been resurfaced by lava to the northwest and in sections of the remainder of the floor. There are some low rises and ghost-crater rims in the southeast half part of the interior floor.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Lexell.
Lexell | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
A | 36.9° S | 1.4° W | 34 km |
B | 37.3° S | 3.4° W | 23 km |
D | 36.1° S | 0.7° W | 20 km |
E | 37.2° S | 0.4° W | 16 km |
F | 36.5° S | 5.4° W | 8 km |
G | 37.2° S | 4.9° W | 10 km |
H | 36.5° S | 4.9° W | 10 km |
K | 35.9° S | 6.4° W | 10 km |
L | 36.0° S | 6.0° W | 8 km |
Deslandres is the heavily worn and distorted remains of a lunar impact crater. It is located to the southeast of the Mare Nubium, in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. In dimension it is the third-largest crater formation on the visible Moon, being beaten only by Clavius and by the 303-kilometer-diameter walled plain Bailly. The northern and eastern parts of the floor display a relatively level surface, but it is pock-marked with numerous craters. There is a small region of mare material, due to basaltic lava, along the eastern interior floor.
Doppler is a lunar impact crater named for Christian Doppler that is located at the southern edge of the walled plain Korolev, on the far side of the Moon. To the east are the craters Das and Galois. Farther to the southwest of Doppler is Mohorovičić.
Bergstrand is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon. It is located just to the southeast of the prominent crater Aitken, and northeast of the walled plain Vertregt.
Boltzmann is an old lunar impact crater that is located along the southern limb of the Moon, in the vicinity of the south pole. At this location the crater is viewed from the side from Earth, and so not much detail can be seen. It is located to the north of the walled plain Drygalski, and to the west of the crater Le Gentil.
De La Rue is the remnant of a lunar impact crater, or possibly several merged craters, creating a formation sometimes called a walled plain. It lies in the northeastern part of the Moon on the near side, and so appears foreshortened due to its location. This formation lies to the north-northwest of the prominent crater Endymion, just beyond the eastern extreme of Mare Frigoris. The crater Strabo intrudes into the northern part of De La Rue's northern rim, and the smaller Thales is attached to the northwestern part of the wall.
Ball is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. It was named after British astronomer William Ball. The formation is circular and symmetrical, and has received little significant wear. The interior is rough-surfaced, curving downward toward the relatively wide central peak at the midpoint.
Birkeland is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. This crater is attached to the central waist of the oddly shaped Van de Graaff crater formation, and may partly account for that crater's figure-8 shape. To the southeast is the large walled plain Leibnitz.
Brouwer is a large lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. Intruding into the western rim of Brouwer is the younger and somewhat smaller crater Langmuir. Further to the east-southeast is the larger walled plain Blackett.
Damoiseau is a lunar impact crater that is located just to the west of the Oceanus Procellarum, in the western part of the Moon's near side. It lies due east of the prominent crater Grimaldi, a walled plain with a distinctive dark floor. Due south of Damoiseau is the crater Sirsalis.
Carver is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, due east of the walled plain Van der Waals. To the northeast is the crater Rosseland, and to the south-southeast lies Kozyrev.
Harkhebi is a large lunar impact crater of the category termed a walled plain, on the far side. Half of the crater to the north-northeast is overlain by the walled plain Fabry, a large formation in its own right. Attached to the northwestern rim is the much smaller crater Vashakidze. To the southwest lies Vestine, and to the south is Richardson.
Cailleux is a lunar impact crater that is attached to the southwest rim of the walled plain Poincaré. It is located in the southern part of the Moon's far side, and cannot be seen from the Earth. To the southeast of Cailleux is the crater Lyman, and nearly due westward is Prandtl.
Carnot is a large crater in the northern part of the Moon's far side. It intrudes into the southern rim of the huge walled plain Birkhoff. To the west-southwest of Carnot is the crater Paraskevopoulos.
Drebbel is a small lunar impact crater named after Cornelius Drebbel that is located to the northeast of the large walled plain Schickard, in the southwestern part of the Moon. Further to the northeast is the Lacus Excellentiae and the small crater Clausius.
Chernyshev is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern part of the Moon's far side. It lies to the northeast of the crater Chandler, and to the southeast of the walled plain D'Alembert.
Comstock is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the northeast of the walled plain Fersman, and north of the crater Weyl.
Congreve is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon relative to the Earth, and lies across the lunar equator. It lies to the west-northwest of the massive walled plain Korolev. To the southeast is the crater Icarus, and due north is Zhukovskiy.
Douglass is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the crater Frost and south-southwest of the large walled plain Landau.
Eötvös is the remains of a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the north-northwest of the walled plain Roche, and east-southeast of the equally ruined Bolyai.
Fersman is a large lunar impact crater on the Moon's far side. It lies to the east of the crater Poynting, and west-northwest of Weyl. To the south is the huge walled plain Hertzsprung.
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