| Crater characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34.5° S, 87.3° E |
| Diameter | 122 km |
| Depth | 1.19 km[1] |
| Colongitude | 276° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Niels Henrik Abel |
Abel is an ancient lunar crater that lies near the southeast limb of the Moon's near side. It is located to the south of Barnard crater, at the northwest edge of the Mare Australe. The rim of Abel crater is heavily eroded and distorted in shape, forming a somewhat polygonal figure. It is incised and overlaid by past impacts. The satellite crater 'Abel A' overlays the southern rim, while 'Abel M' and 'Abel L' intrude into the western wall. The eastern floor of Abel has been resurfaced by past lava flows, leaving a relatively smooth, flat surface with a low albedo. The remains of a small crater rim protrude near the northeast wall. The western floor is rougher in texture and matches the albedo of the surrounding surface. The Abel Crater was named for the Norwegian mathematician Niels Abel.
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 Abel crater.
| Abel | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 36.6° S | 86.0° E | 19 km |
| B | 36.7° S | 82.8° E | 41 km |
| C | 36.0° S | 81.0° E | 31 km |
| D | 37.7° S | 87.7° E | 30 km |
| E | 37.8° S | 86.5° E | 13 km |
| J | 35.5° S | 79.0° E | 11 km |
| K | 35.0° S | 77.2° E | 9 km |
| L | 34.4° S | 82.6° E | 67 km |
| M | 32.2° S | 83.6° E | 81 km |
References
- Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A., (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
- Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
- Bussey, B.; Spudis, P., (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81528-2.
- Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 0-936389-27-3.
- McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). Lunar Nomenclature. Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved on 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: 136.
- Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co.. ISBN 0-304-35469-4.
- Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon observer's handbook. Cambridge University Press.
- Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-913135-17-8.
- Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, 6th revision, Dover. ISBN 0-486-20917-2.
- Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62248-4.
- Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 1852331933.
