Pilâtre is a lunar impact crater near the southwestern limb of the Moon. It is located just to the north-northwest of the much larger walled plain Hausen. The satellite crater Pingré S is attached to the eastern rim, with Pingré itself located farther to the northeast. Just to the west-southwest is Chappe, a formation of similar dimension to Pilâtre.[2]
 Lunar Orbiter 4 image | |
| Coordinates | 60°12′S 86°54′W / 60.2°S 86.9°W[1] |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 50 km |
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 93° at sunrise |
| Eponym | J. F. Pilâtre de Rozier |
Due to its location, this crater is viewed almost from the edge from the Earth, limiting the amount of detail that can be observed. This part of the surface is also subject to libration, and the crater can sometimes be completely hidden from view.
The rim of this crater has been heavily worn through impact erosion, leaving an irregular rise that is marked by a number of minor impacts. There is a slight outward bulge in the western part of the rim, and the inner wall is wider in that part of the crater. The interior floor is somewhat irregular, and contains a small craterlet near the southeastern inner wall.
This crater was previously designated Hausen B before being assigned a name by the IAU in 1991.[1]
Pilâtre lies to the south of the Mendel-Rydberg Basin, a 630 km wide impact basin of Nectarian age.
References
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- ^ a b "Pilâtre (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
- ^ "Planetary Names". planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- 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.
- Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
- Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
- 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.
- Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
- Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
- Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
- Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
- 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.