Abulfeda is a lunar impact crater located in the central highlands of the Moon. To the northeast is the crater Descartes, and to the south-southeast is Almanon. To the north is the crater Dollond. A chain of craters named the Catena Abulfeda runs between the southern rim of Abulfeda and the north rim of Almanon, then continues for a length of 210 kilometers across the Rupes Altai. The crater was named for 14th century Kurdish historian Ismael Abul-fida.Abu-al-Fida at Encyclopaedia BritannicaIdentifiants et Référentiels Sudoc Pour L'Enseignement Supérieur et la Recherche - Abū al-Fidā (1273-1331) Autostar Suite Astronomer Edition. CD-ROM. Meade, April 2006.
On the lunar geologic timescale, Abulfeda dates to the Nectarian age. Table 9-4. Both 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 or by basaltic lava, 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.Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co.. . p.207
A crater chain along the southern rim of Abulfeda was considered for a landing site of an early Apollo mission, primarily because it was considered to be a typical highland site, and at the time, crater chains were thought to possibly be volcanic in nature (rather than of impact origin).El-Baz, Farouk, 1968. Geologic Characteristics of the Nine Lunar Landing Mission Sites Recommended by the Group for Lunar Exploration Planning. Bellcomm, Inc. TR-68-340-1.
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 Abulfeda.
AbulfedaLatitudeLongitudeDiameterA16.4° S10.8° E14 kmB14.5° S16.4° E15 kmBA14.6° S16.8° E13 kmC12.8° S10.9° E17 kmD13.2° S9.5° E20 kmE16.7° S10.2° E6 kmF16.2° S13.0° E13 kmG13.1° S9.0° E7 kmH13.8° S9.6° E5 kmJ15.5° S10.0° E5 kmK14.9° S10.6° E10 kmL14.1° S10.7° E5 kmM16.2° S12.1° E10 kmN15.1° S12.2° E14 kmO15.4° S11.2° E7 kmP15.5° S11.5° E5 kmQ12.8° S12.3° E3 kmR12.8° S13.0° E7 kmS12.2° S13.3° E5 kmT14.8° S13.8° E7 kmU13.0° S13.8° E6 kmW12.5° S13.9° E5 kmX15.0° S14.0° E6 kmY12.8° S14.1° E5 kmZ14.7° S15.2° E5 km
References
External links
Abulfeda at The Moon Wiki Catena Abulfeda at The Moon Wiki Boulder or Crater? - Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter page with images