Nichollet is a small, isolated lunar impact crater on the Mare Nubium, a lunar mare in the southwest quadrant of the Moon. It was named after French astronomer Joseph Nicollet.[1] This crater is located to the north of the crater Pitatus, about midway between Wolf to the west and Birt to the east.
 Lunar Orbiter 4 image | |
| Coordinates | 21°54′S 12°30′W / 21.9°S 12.5°W |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 15 km |
| Depth | 2.0 km |
| Colongitude | 13° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Joseph Nicollet |
This is a circular, bowl-shaped crater with a rim raised above the surface of the surrounding lava plain. The inner walls slope down to the interior floor, with the bottom having a diameter about half that of the crater. Some wrinkle ridges lie in the surface of the nearby mare, joining with the outer rim. These features are best observed under oblique lighting conditions when the terminator has just moved past the crater during the waxing phase.
Satellite craters
editBy convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Nicollet.
| Nicollet | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| B | 20.1° S | 13.5° W | 5 km |
| D | 23.2° S | 12.2° W | 2 km |
References
edit- ^ "Nicollet (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
- Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
- Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
- Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
- McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 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 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID 122125855.
- Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
- Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
- Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
- Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
- Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
- Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.
External links
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