Craterra

Southwestern Near Side Crater

An Eroded Pre-Nectarian Crater on the Southwestern Near Side

Spanning 134.11 kilometers across the southwestern near side, Mee is an ancient Pre-Nectarian crater intruded by the merged triple-crater formation Hainzel.

Feature Profile & Selenographic Data

Feature type
crater
Coordinates
43.63° S · 35.19° W
Diameter
134.11 km
Depth
2.7 km
IAU approval
1935/01/01 00:00:00
LAC quadrangle
LAC-111 · Wilhelm
Geological Period
Pre-Nectarian

Geological Chronicle

Mee is an ancient lunar impact crater in the southwestern part of the Moon's near side, measuring 134.11 kilometers in diameter and 2.7 kilometers deep. Formed during the Pre-Nectarian period between 4.55 and 3.92 billion years ago, the crater has an outer rim heavily eroded by subsequent impacts. Overlying its northwestern rim and intruding one-third of the distance across the interior floor is Hainzel, a merged triple-crater formation, while the highly elongated crater Schiller lies to the south.

The inner wall of Mee is notched and indented by multiple small craters, with the most recent being Mee F along the northwestern side. Portions of the crater's interior floor are relatively level, featuring a palimpsest named Mee E in the northwest and a tiny crater with a high-albedo halo in the eastern section.

The crater is named after Arthur Butler Phillips Mee, a Scottish astronomer.

Chronology & Exploration

  1. 4.55–3.92 Ga Pre-Nectarian Formation

    Mee forms during the Pre-Nectarian period between 4.55 and 3.92 billion years ago.

Scientific Sources & References

Name Origin

Arthur Butler Phillips; Scottish astronomer (1860-1926).

Interactive Lunar Surface

Explore Mee in 3D

Inspect lunar elevation data and the official selenographic position.