Becquerel (lunar crater)
Encyclopedia
Becquerel is a lunar
crater
that lies in the northern hemisphere
on the far side of the Moon
. This is an ancient and heavily worn formation that is now little more than an irregular depression in the surface. The outer rim has been worn and reshaped until it forms a rugged, mountainous region around the flatter interior.
The most notable of the formations on the rim is Becquerel X, which is part of a double crater along the northwestern rim. There is a short valley paralleling the southwestern rim, most likely formed by the merging of several small craters. The interior floor of Becquerel is relatively flat, but with rough sections and several tiny craterlets marking the surface. There is a dark patch (low albedo
) on the floor near the southern rim.
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
crater
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
that lies in the northern hemisphere
Sphere
A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point...
on the far side of the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. This is an ancient and heavily worn formation that is now little more than an irregular depression in the surface. The outer rim has been worn and reshaped until it forms a rugged, mountainous region around the flatter interior.
The most notable of the formations on the rim is Becquerel X, which is part of a double crater along the northwestern rim. There is a short valley paralleling the southwestern rim, most likely formed by the merging of several small craters. The interior floor of Becquerel is relatively flat, but with rough sections and several tiny craterlets marking the surface. There is a dark patch (low albedo
Albedo
Albedo , or reflection coefficient, is the diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface. It is defined as the ratio of reflected radiation from the surface to incident radiation upon it...
) on the floor near the southern rim.
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Becquerel.| Becquerel | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| E | 41.0° N | 131.5° E | 32 km |
| F | 40.9° N | 132.9° E | 21 km |
| W | 42.2° N | 126.9° E | 27 km |
| X | 42.2° N | 128.1° E | 34 km |