| Crater characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 4.2° N, 93.9° E |
| Diameter | 99 km |
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 267° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Harold D. Babcock |
Babcock is a lunar crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It lies on the northeastern edge of Mare Smythii, to the southeast of Mare Marginis. To the south of Babcock is the Purkynĕ crater, and to the east-northeast lies the Erro crater. Babcock is located in a region of the Moon's surface that is occasionally brought into view during favorable librations, although it is seen from the edge and so little detail can be discerned from an observer on the Earth. The rim of Babcock has been eroded, notched and modified by subsequent impacts, leaving a somewhat irregular and uneven outer rim. The interior has been resurfaced by lava flows, and is relatively flat. In place of a central peak, a small crater lies very close to the crater mid-point. This crater has been designated Zasyadko. A smaller crater lies on the interior near the northern edge. The area about the Babcock crater has been subject to past inundations by basaltic lava flows, leaving the surface relatively flat and the remnants of ghost-craters visible as curved ridges in the ground.
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 Babcock crater.
| Babcock | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| H | 3.0° N | 96.5° E | 63 km |
| K | 1.2° N | 95.2° E | 10 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.
