Herschel (lunar crater)
{{Short description|Lunar impact crater}}{{for|other craters in the Solar System named 'Herschel'|Herschel (crater)}}
{{no footnotes|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox Lunar crater
| image = AS12-50-7431 (21676573116).jpg
| caption = Herschel (center), with Ptolemaeus (right) and Flammarion (lower left), from Apollo 12
| coordinates = {{coord|5.7|S|2.1|W|globe:moon_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| diameter = 39 km
| depth = 3.8 km
| colong = 3
| eponym = William Herschel
}}
File:Ptolemaeus trium area Si.jpg
Image:Herschel crater 4108 h3.jpg image of Herschel]]
Image:Lunar module AS12-51-7507 Herchel.jpg]]
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.{{gpn|2477}}
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.[https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1348 The geologic history of the Moon]. USGS Professional Paper 1348. By Don E. Wilhelms, John F. McCauley, and Newell J. Trask. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington: 1987. Table 12.2.
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.
| class="wikitable"
!width="25%" style="background:#eeeeee;" |Herschel !width="25%" style="background:#eeeeee;" |Latitude !width="25%" style="background:#eeeeee;" |Longitude !width="25%" style="background:#eeeeee;" |Diameter |
| align="center"|C
|align="center"|5.0° S |align="center"|3.2° W |align="center"|10 km |
| align="center"|D
|align="center"|5.3° S |align="center"|4.0° W |align="center"|20 km |
| align="center"|F
|align="center"|5.8° S |align="center"|4.4° W |align="center"|7 km |
| align="center"|G
|align="center"|6.5° S |align="center"|2.4° W |align="center"|14 km |
| align="center"|H
|align="center"|6.3° S |align="center"|3.4° W |align="center"|5 km |
| align="center"|J
|align="center"|6.4° S |align="center"|4.3° W |align="center"|5 km |
| align="center"|N
|align="center"|5.2° S |align="center"|1.1° W |align="center"|15 km |
| align="center"|X
|align="center"|5.3° S |align="center"|2.7° W |align="center"|3 km |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book
| last1 = Andersson
| first1 = L. E.
| last2 = Whitaker
| first2 = E. A.
| author-link2 = Ewen Whitaker
| date = 1982
| title = NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature
| publisher = NASA RP-1097
}}
- {{cite book
| last1 = Bussey
| first1 = B.
| author-link1 = Ben Bussey
| last2 = Spudis
| first2 = P.
| author-link2 = Paul Spudis
| date = 2004
| title = The Clementine Atlas of the Moon
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| location = New York
| isbn = 978-0-521-81528-4
}}
- {{cite book
| last1 = Cocks
| first1 = Elijah E.
| last2 = Cocks
| first2 = Josiah C.
| date = 1995
| title = Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature
| publisher = Tudor Publishers
| isbn = 978-0-936389-27-1
| url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780936389271
}}
- {{cite web
| last = McDowell
| first = Jonathan
| date = July 15, 2007
| url = http://host.planet4589.org/astro/lunar/
| title = Lunar Nomenclature
| publisher = Jonathan's Space Report
| access-date = 2007-10-24
}}
- {{cite journal| last1 = Menzel| first1 = D. H.| last2 = Minnaert| first2 = M.| last3 = Levin| first3 = B.| last4 = Dollfus| first4 = A.| last5 = Bell| first5 = B.| title = Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU| doi = 10.1007/BF00171763| journal = Space Science Reviews| volume = 12| issue = 2| pages = 136–186| year = 1971| bibcode = 1971SSRv...12..136M| s2cid = 122125855}}
- {{cite book
| first = Patrick
| last = Moore
| author-link = Patrick Moore
| date = 2001
| title = On the Moon
| publisher = Sterling Publishing Co
| isbn = 978-0-304-35469-6
| url = https://archive.org/details/patrickmooreonmo00patr
}}
- {{cite book
| first = Fred W.
| last = Price
| date = 1988
| title = The Moon Observer's Handbook
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| isbn = 978-0-521-33500-3
}}
- {{cite book
| last = Rükl
| first = Antonín
| author-link = Antonín Rükl
| date = 1990
| title = Atlas of the Moon
| publisher = Kalmbach Books
| isbn = 978-0-913135-17-4
}}
- {{cite book
| last = Webb
| first = Rev. T. W.
| author-link = Thomas William Webb
| date = 1962
| title = Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes
| edition = 6th revised
| publisher = Dover
| isbn = 978-0-486-20917-3
| url = https://archive.org/details/celestialobjects00webb
}}
- {{cite book
| first = Ewen A.
| last = Whitaker
| author-link = Ewen Whitaker
| date = 1999
| title = Mapping and Naming the Moon
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| isbn = 978-0-521-62248-6
}}
- {{cite book
| first = Peter T.
| last = Wlasuk
| date = 2000
| title = Observing the Moon
| publisher = Springer
| isbn = 978-1-85233-193-1
}}
{{refend}}
External links
{{Commonscat}}
- [https://the-moon.us/wiki/Herschel Herschel at The Moon Wiki]
- [http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/LTO/lto77a3_1/ LTO-77A3 Herschel] — L&PI topographic map