Peirce (crater)

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Peirce
Peirce crater AS17-M-0290.jpg
Apollo 17 mapping camera image
Coordinates 18°18′N53°30′E / 18.3°N 53.5°E / 18.3; 53.5
Diameter 19 km
Depth 1.8 km
Colongitude 307° at sunrise
Eponym Benjamin Peirce
The crater area (at the right) in selenochromatic format Aldo Ferruggia - Proclus crater.jpg
The crater area (at the right) in selenochromatic format
Oblique view from Apollo 17, facing north Peirce crater AS17-P-2684.jpg
Oblique view from Apollo 17, facing north
Peirce (center) and Swift (above center), from Apollo 17. The rays from the left are from Proclus. NASA photo. AS17-M-0431.jpg
Peirce (center) and Swift (above center), from Apollo 17. The rays from the left are from Proclus. NASA  photo.

Peirce is a small lunar impact crater in the western part of Mare Crisium. That dark, circular lunar mare is located in the east-northeasterly part of the Moon's near side. It was named after the American mathematician Benjamin Peirce. [1] Peirce lies to the north of the craters Yerkes and Picard, and southeast of Macrobius located outside the mare. Just over a crater diameter to the north of Peirce is the smaller Swift. To the northwest is the wrinkle ridge Dorsum Oppel.

Contents

The rim of Peirce is roughly circular, with a slight outward bulge along the northwestern rim. There are indications of slumping along the sides of this section, producing a wider inner wall. It is generally bowl-shaped, and is marked only by a tiny craterlet along the inner southeast rim. The interior is marked by several furrows, ridges, as well as a low, conical hill near the midpoint.

Peirce is a crater of Eratosthenian age. [2]

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 Peirce.

PeirceLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
C18.8° N49.9° E19 km

The following craters have been renamed by the IAU.

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References

  1. "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Peirce". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union . Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  2. The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. By Don E. Wilhelms, John F. McCauley, and Newell J. Trask. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington: 1987. Table 12.2.