 Lunar Orbiter 4 image | |
| Coordinates | 46°30′S67°36′E / 46.5°S 67.6°E Coordinates: 46°30′S67°36′E / 46.5°S 67.6°E |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 62 km |
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 293° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc |
Peirescius is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southeastern part of the Moon. It is close enough to the limb that it appears significantly foreshortened when viewed from the Earth, even though it is nearly circular in shape. To the west-northwest of Peirescius is the crater Vega, and less than one crater diameter to the south is Brisbane. Farther to the east is the Mare Australe.
Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, almost all of which were formed by impacts.
An impact crater is an approximately circular depression in the surface of a planet, moon, or other solid body in the Solar System or elsewhere, formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller body. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters typically have raised rims and floors that are lower in elevation than the surrounding terrain. Impact craters range from small, simple, bowl-shaped depressions to large, complex, multi-ringed impact basins. Meteor Crater is a well-known example of a small impact crater on Earth.
Earth's Moon is an astronomical body that orbits the planet and acts as its only permanent natural satellite. It is the fifth-largest satellite in the Solar System, and the largest among planetary satellites relative to the size of the planet that it orbits. The Moon is, after Jupiter's satellite Io, the second-densest satellite in the Solar System among those whose densities are known.
The outer parts of this crater has become eroded by smaller impacts, and several small craterlets lie along the rim or the inner wall. These have taken their toll upon the original crater shape, although it is nowhere near as badly eroded as the nearby Vega. The interior floor is a relatively featureless expanse, with only a low rise in the center and a small craterlet toward the northern rim.
The crater was named in 1935 after Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc (1580–1637), the French astronomer, antiquary and savant.
Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, often known simply as Peiresc, or by the Latin form of his name Peirescius, was a French astronomer, antiquary and savant, who maintained a wide correspondence with scientists, and was a successful organizer of scientific inquiry. His research included a determination of the difference in longitude of various locations in Europe, around the Mediterranean, and in North Africa.
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts. The essence of antiquarianism is a focus on the empirical evidence of the past, and is perhaps best encapsulated in the motto adopted by the 18th-century antiquary Sir Richard Colt Hoare, "We speak from facts, not theory."
