moon crater AbulfedaThis week we will highlight the moon crater Abulfeda, viewable early Tuesday morning on Day 21. It is a lunar impact crater located in the central highlands of the Moon. To the northeast is the moon crater Descartes. A chain of moon craters named Catena Abulfeda runs between the southern rim of Abulfeda and the north rim of Almanon, then continues for a length of 210 kilometers across Rupes Altai.

chain of moon craters named Catena AbulfedaBoth the south and northeast sides of the crater rim are overlain by multiple small craterlets. The inner wall is noticeably wider in the east, and shallow and worn to the north. The crater floor has been resurfaced, either by ejecta from the Mare Imbrium impact or by basaltic lava flows and is relatively smooth and featureless. The crater lacks a central rise at the midpoint, which may have been buried. The inner sides appear to have been somewhat smoothed down, most likely as a result of minor bombardment and seismic shaking from other impacts in the vicinity.

Moon Crater Abulfada: Day 20; T=32° E. (T=18° E. early Tuesday morning)

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It is highly recommended that you get a copy of Sky and Telescope’s Field Map of the Moon, the very finest Moon map available for use at the telescope. It is available for $10.95 at www.skyandtelescope.com and on Amazon. All features mentioned in this blog will be keyed to the grid on the Field Map and will look like this: Plato: [NW/D9]

Credits:
Courtesy of Gray Photography of Corpus Christi, Texas
Lunar photos: NASA / USGS / BMDO / LROC / ASU / DLR / LOLA / Moon Globe. Used by permission

Andrew Planck
Catena Abulfeda: Chain of Moon Craters

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