Joule is a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the north-northeast of the walled plain Mach. To the northwest of Joule is the crater Blazhko.

Joule
LRO image
Coordinates27°18′N 144°12′W / 27.3°N 144.2°W / 27.3; -144.2
Diameter96 km
DepthUnknown
Colongitude145° at sunrise
EponymJames Prescott Joule
Mosaic of oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 images, facing west

This is a worn and eroded crater formation. A pair of smaller craters lies along the northeastern rim, and a crater is intruding into the northwest rim. To the south is an outward projection that has the appearance of a crater partly overlain by Joule. The remainder of the rim and inner wall is somewhat irregular. The interior floor is more level than the terrain surrounding the crater, but is marked by some small craterlets. At the midpoint of the interior floor is a central peak.

Joule T is located less than a crater diameter to the west of Joule. A smaller crater named Wargo with a prominent ray system lies on the western edge of Joule T. These rays primarily project to the south of the crater, with the most prominent ray crossing the crater Harvey to the south. Only faint traces of this ray system actually cross into Joule, and are generally restricted to the western rim, inner sides and floor.

Satellite craters

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By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Joule.

Joule Latitude Longitude Diameter
K 25.8° N 141.9° W 16 km
L 26.1° N 144.1° W 69 km
T 27.7° N 148.2° W 37 km

References

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  • Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
  • Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.