Lexell (crater)
Lexell crater and its satellite craters taken from Earth in 2012 at the University of Hertfordshire's Bayfordbury Observatory with the telescopes Meade LX200 14" and Lumenera Skynyx 2-1 | |
| Coordinates | 35°48′S 4°12′W / 35.8°S 4.2°W |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 63 km |
| Depth | 2.2 km |
| Colongitude | 5° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Anders Johan Lexell |
Lexell is a lunar impact crater that lies across the southeastern rim of the huge walled plain Deslandres, in the southern part of the Moon. It was named after Swedish-Russian mathematician and astronomer Anders Johan Lexell. To the northeast is the walled plain Walther, and to the south is Orontius, another walled plain.
This is a somewhat irregular formation with a wide break in the northern rim. The western rim forms a low, arcing wall, and is overlain to the southwest by Lexell H after passing the rim of Deslandres. The rim peaks along the southeast, then comes to an end at a rugged promontory-like ridge. The interior floor has been resurfaced by lava to the northwest and in sections of the remainder of the floor. There are some low rises and ghost-crater rims in the southeast half part of the interior floor.