Birmingham is the surviving remnant of a
lunarimpact crater. It is named after the astronomer
John Birmingham (not, as is often stated, the
British city nor its
Alabama namesake).
The crater is located near the northern limb of the
Moon, and so is viewed from the
Earth at a low angle.
All that survives of the original formation is an irregular perimeter of low, indented ridges surrounding the
lava-resurfaced interior. The inner floor is marked by several tiny craterlets, and the surface is unusually rough for a walled plain. The low angle of illumination allows fine details of this boulder-strewn field to be seen more clearly.
Location
The Birmingham formation lies just to the north of the
Mare Frigoris, and to the east of the walled plain
W. Bond. To the northeast is the smaller crater
Epigenes, with
Fontenelle to the west.
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 Birmingham.
Birmingham
Latitude
Longitude
Diameter
km
mi
B
63.6° N
11.3° W
8
5.0
G
64.5° N
10.2° W
5
3.1
H
64.4° N
10.6° W
7
4.3
K
65.0° N
13.1° W
6
3.7
References
Andersson, L. E.;
Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
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.