What is "messala"

Messala is a lunar crater of sufficient dimension to belong to the category of impact features known as walled plains. It is located in the northeastern part of the Moon, close enough to the rim to appear significantly foreshortened. Nearly attached to the northern rim is the crater Schumacher. To the southwest is the prominent crater Geminus, and due south is the smaller Bernoulli.

The outer rim of this formation has received a significant amount of erosion due to minor impacts, but much of the outer wall retains its original shape and a certain degree of terracing. The rim is broken by smaller craters along the south, north, and northwest sides, designated Messala B, J, and K, respectively. Messala J has a narrow gouge in its eastern rim leading one crater diameter to the east. It is attached to a slightly larger crater which lies across the southern rim of Schumacher.

The interior floor is relatively level but contains irregularities in the surface at some locations. There are several small craters across the floor, which are now little more than low rims and depressions in the surface. The most notable of these is a ghost crater along the western inner wall.

The name Messala, or Messalla, can refer to several people in Ancient Rome:

• Marcus Valerius Messalla (disambiguation)
  • The Roman general Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus.
  • The ancient Roman Senator Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger.
  • The ancient Roman politician Marcus Valerius Messalla Rufus.
• The fourth and final wife of Sulla, whose name was Valeria Messala.
• Marcus Silius Messala
• Ennodius Messala
• Messala, a character in the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ and films derived from it.
• The astronomer Mashallah ibn Atharī (died 815 AD), after whom the crater Messala on the Moon is named.
• A character in the manga version of the film Big Tits Zombie.
• A Mobile Suit that appears in the anime series Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, probably named after either the Roman general or the crater.

Messala is a fictional character from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ ,and its film adaptations ,where he appears as the main antagonist.