Lyell is a

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 An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...

that lies along the eastern edge of the

Mare Tranquillitatis Mare Tranquillitatis (Latin ''tranquillitātis'', the Sea of Tranquillity or Sea of Tranquility; see spelling differences) is a lunar mare that sits within the Tranquillitatis basin on the Moon. It is the first location on another world to be ...

, at the northern arm of the bay designated

Sinus Concordiae Sinus Concordiae (Latin ''sinus concordiae'' "Bay of Harmony") is a bay (''sinus'') on the Moon that lies along the eastern edge of the Mare Tranquillitatis. Along its northern border is an area called the Palus Somni, while the southern borde ...

. It was named after Scottish geologist

Charles Lyell Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, (14 November 1797 – 22 February 1875) was a Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of known natural causes in explaining the earth's history. He is best known as the author of ''Principles of Geolo ...

. To the north along the edge of the

lunar mare The lunar maria (; singular: mare ) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient asteroid impacts on the far side on the Moon that triggered volcanic activity on the opposite (near) side. They were dubbed , Latin for 'seas' ...

is the crater

Franz Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see ...

. The region of terrain to the east of Lyell is named

Palus Somni Palus Somni (Latin ''palūs somnī'' "Marsh of Sleep") is an area on the Moon of relatively level but somewhat uneven terrain that lies along the northeastern edge of Mare Tranquillitatis and the Sinus Concordiae. It has selenographic coordinate ...

. The outer rim of this crater is an irregular series of ridges in a roughly circular formation. There are multiple gaps through this rim, connected the interior to the mare in the west. The wall is at its thickest along the eastern side of the crater. Aldo Ferruggia - Proclus crater

The interior floor has been resurfaced by lava, leaving a level, featureless surface that has no markings or impacts of note. The central region of the inner floor has a relatively low

albedo Albedo (; ) is the measure of the diffuse reflection of 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 that refl ...

compared to the surrounding terrain, giving it a dark appearance that matches the nearby mare.

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 Lyell. Lyell crater AS11-42-6231

References

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External links

{{Commons category, Lyell (crater)
LTO-61B1 Lyell
— 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 ...

Impact craters on the Moon