Bessel is a small

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

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.Bessel
Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN) Despite its small size, this is the largest crater to lie entirely within the

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

. It lies to the north-northeast of the crater

Menelaus In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of th ...

. This crater is circular and bowl-shaped with a rim that has a higher

albedo Albedo (; ) is the measure of the diffuse reflection of sunlight, solar radiation out of the total solar radiation and measured on a scale from 0, corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation, to 1, corresponding to a body ...

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 Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

structures of larger craters. A large

ray Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (g ...

, most likely from Tycho, crosses the mare from north to south, passing Bessel's western side.

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 Bessel. The following craters have been renamed by the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach ...

: * Bessel A — ''See''

Sarabhai (crater) Sarabhai is a small, circular, bowl-shaped crater on the Mare Serenitatis, in the northeast quadrant of the Moon. The formation is relatively isolated, being located to the northeast of the crater Bessel. It lies along a wrinkle ridge designated ...

. * Bessel E — ''See''

Bobillier (crater) Bobillier is a tiny, cup-shaped lunar impact crater in the southwest part of Mare Serenitatis. It was named after French geometer Étienne Bobillier Étienne Bobillier (17 April 1798 – 22 March 1840) was a French mathematician. He was born i ...

References

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links

*
LTO-42D2 Bessel
— L&PI

topographic map In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but historic ...

* - includes the crater Bessel {{Craters on the Moon: A–B Impact craters on the Moon Mare Serenitatis

Satellite craters

See also

References

External links

Related article