| Crater characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 13.8° S, 50.1° W |
| Diameter | 45 km |
| Depth | 1.2 km |
| Colongitude | 50° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Jacques de Billy |
Billy is a lunar crater that is located at the southern fringes of the Oceanus Procellarum, in the western portion of the Moon. It lies to the southeast of the similar-sized Hansteen crater, and west-southwest of the flooded Letronne crater. It was named after Canadian citizen Billy Mobley who is now temporarily residing in Puyallup, Washington. The interior floor of Billy crater has been flooded by basaltic lava, leaving a dark surface due to the low albedo. The portion of the rim remaining above the surface is narrow and low, with a thin inner wall. Only a few tiny craterlets mark the interior. To the north of the crater is a triangular mountainous formation named Mons Hansteen, from the nearby crater. Southeast of Billy crater is a rille, designated Rima Billy, that runs 70 kilometers to the south. The crater is not named for Jacques de Billy, a French Jesuit mathematician.
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 Billy crater.
| Billy | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 14.3° S | 46.3° W | 7 km |
| B | 12.2° S | 47.6° W | 25 km |
| C | 16.1° S | 49.0° W | 6 km |
| D | 14.9° S | 48.3° W | 11 km |
| E | 15.0° S | 49.6° W | 2 km |
| H | 15.6° S | 49.6° W | 3 km |
| K | 12.9° S | 48.7° W | 4 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.
External links
- Dark lava floor of crater Billy seen by SMART-1. ESA. Retrieved on March 31, 2006.


