Bell is a lunarimpact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just past the western limb. It lies in an area of terrain that is marked by many small craters, a number of which are satellite craters of Bell listed in the table below. Bell lies within two crater diameters of Laue to the north, and to the west of the smaller Helberg.
The outer wall of Bell has been worn, eroded, and somewhat reshaped by subsequent impacts. The satellite crater Bell Q lies across the southwest rim, and smaller craterslie across the rim to the north and the east. The interior floor is relatively level, and marked by the crater Bell E which is offset to the east of the midpoint.
Prior to formal naming by the IAU in 1970,[1] Bell was called Crater 182.[2]
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Bell.
Bell
Latitude
Longitude
Diameter
E
22.0° N
95.8° W
15 km
J
19.9° N
94.0° W
18 km
K
18.3° N
95.1° W
18 km
L
19.7° N
95.8° W
23 km
N
19.5° N
96.9° W
18 km
Q
20.7° N
97.2° W
23 km
T
21.9° N
98.9° W
52 km
Y
25.4° N
96.7° W
23 km
References
^Bell, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
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. S2CID122125855.