Bessel is a small lunar impact crater that is located in the southern half of the Mare Serenitatis. The crater was named after the German astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel in 1935.[1] Despite its small size, this is the largest crater to lie entirely within the mare. It lies to the north-northeast of the crater Menelaus.
 Apollo 17 Mapping Camera image | |
| Coordinates | 21°48′N 17°54′E / 21.8°N 17.9°E |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 16 km |
| Depth | 1.7 km |
| Colongitude | 342° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Friedrich W. Bessel |
This crater is circular and bowl-shaped with a rim that has a higher albedo than the floor or the surrounding mare. The outer rim is not significantly worn, and there are no features of note on the interior, apart from some slumping of material from the inner walls to the floor. Bessel is not of sufficient size to have developed the terrace structures of larger craters.
A large ray crosses the mare from north to south, passing Bessel's western side. This ray is enigmatic due to its unclear origin. It appears to originate at the rim of Menelaus crater, yet it aligns with the trajectory of a Tycho ray, suggesting Tycho as a possible source. However, the Tycho ray terminates in the central highlands, hundreds of kilometers south of the Bessel region. Additionally, there are no evident clusters of Tycho secondary craters along the ray between its end in the highlands and the start of the bright ray at Menelaus' rim.[2]
Satellite craters
editBy convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Bessel.
| Bessel | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| D | 27.3° N | 19.9° E | 5 km |
| F | 21.2° N | 13.8° E | 1 km |
| G | 21.1° N | 14.7° E | 1 km |
| H | 25.7° N | 20.0° E | 4 km |
The following craters have been renamed by the IAU:
- Bessel A — See Sarabhai (crater).
- Bessel E — See Bobillier (crater).
See also
edit- 1552 Bessel, main-belt asteroid
References
edit- ^ Bessel, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
- ^ Campbell, B.A.; Bell, J.F.; Hawke, B.R.; Zisk, S.H. (1989). "The Bessel Ray Region: Preliminary Analysis of Remote Sensing Data". LPSC89. 20: 139.
- Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
- Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
- Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
- McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
- 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. S2CID 122125855.
- Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
- Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
- Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
- Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
- Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
- Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.
External links
edit
- Keeter, Bill; Crusan, Jason (November 23, 2009). "Radar Strip Showing Crater Bessel". NASA. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
- LTO-42D2 Bessel — L&PI topographic map
Related article
edit- Wood, Chuck (March 12, 2008). "Craters, Rings, Spots, and Rays During Full Moon". Lunar Photo of the Day. - includes the crater Bessel