Coordinates | 29°53′S13°32′W / 29.88°S 13.53°W Coordinates: 29°53′S13°32′W / 29.88°S 13.53°W |
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Diameter | 100.63 km [1] |
Depth | 0.9 km |
Colongitude | 13° at sunrise |
Eponym | Pietro Pitati |
Pitatus is an ancient lunar impact crater located at the southern edge of Mare Nubium. It was named after Italian astronomer Pietro Pitati by the IAU in 1935. [1] Joined to the northwest rim is the crater Hesiodus, and the two are joined by a narrow cleft. To the south lie the attached Wurzelbauer and Gauricus.
The complex wall of Pitatus is heavily worn, and has been encroached by lava flows. The rim is lowest to the north, where the lava almost joins the Mare Nubium. Near the middle is a low central peak that is offset to the northwest of center. This peak only rises to a height of 0.5 km.
Pitatus is a floor-fractured crater, meaning it was flooded from the interior by magma intrusion through cracks and openings. (See also Gassendi and Posidonius for similar features.) The flooded crater floor contains low hills in the east and a system of slender clefts named the Rimae Pitatus. The larger and more spectacular of these rilles follow the edges of the inner walls, especially in the northern and eastern halves. The floor also contains the faint traces of deposited ray markings.
Just to the north of Pitatus in the neighboring mare is the half-buried rim of Pitatus S, covered in the past when Mare Nubium was formed.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Pitatus.
Pitatus | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
---|---|---|---|
A | 31.4° S | 13.2° W | 7 km |
B | 32.3° S | 10.4° W | 16 km |
C | 28.4° S | 12.4° W | 12 km |
D | 30.9° S | 12.0° W | 10 km |
E | 28.9° S | 10.1° W | 6 km |
G | 29.8° S | 11.4° W | 18 km |
H | 30.5° S | 15.7° W | 15 km |
J | 26.5° S | 13.5° W | 5 km |
K | 30.4° S | 8.9° W | 6 km |
L | 29.1° S | 8.6° W | 5 km |
M | 32.1° S | 11.0° W | 14 km |
N | 31.2° S | 10.9° W | 21 km |
P | 31.0° S | 10.9° W | 16 km |
Q | 30.5° S | 10.8° W | 12 km |
R | 31.1° S | 14.6° W | 7 km |
S | 27.3° S | 14.0° W | 12 km |
T | 29.4° S | 11.2° W | 5 km |
V | 28.9° S | 11.7° W | 5 km |
W | 27.9° S | 11.2° W | 13 km |
X | 28.4° S | 11.6° W | 19 km |
Z | 28.3° S | 10.3° W | 25 km |
Beaumont is a lava-flooded crater located on the southwestern shore of the Mare Nectaris on Earth's Moon. It lies to the northwest of the similarly flooded crater remnant Fracastorius. To the west is the prominent crater Catharina. The crater is named after French geologist Léonce Élie de Beaumont.
Fracastorius is the lava-flooded remnant of an ancient lunar impact crater located at the southern edge of Mare Nectaris. To the northwest of this formation lies the crater Beaumont, while to the northeast is Rosse.
Hesiodus is a lunar impact crater located on the southern fringes of Mare Nubium, to the northwest of the crater Pitatus. It was named after the ancient Greek poet Hesiod. Starting near the northwest rim of Hesiodus is the wide cleft named Rima Hesiodus. This rille runs 300 km east-southeastward to the Palus Epidemiarum
Ramsden is a lunar impact crater located on the western stretch of the Palus Epidemiarum. It was named after British instrument maker Jesse Ramsden. To the east-southeast is the crater Capuanus, and to the north lies Dunthorne.
Regiomontanus is an ancient lunar impact crater located in the southern highlands region to the southeast of Mare Nubium. It is joined at the chaotic northern rim by the crater Purbach, and to the south-southeast is Walther.
Thebit is a lunar impact crater located on the southeast shore of Mare Nubium. To the north-northwest is the crater Arzachel, and Purbach lies to the south-southwest. To the southwest is the flooded remnants of Thebit P, which is actually larger in diameter than Thebit itself.
Lubiniezky is a lava-flooded lunar impact crater on the northwest edge of Mare Nubium. It was named after Polish astronomer Stanisław Lubieniecki. This feature is most readily located by finding the prominent crater Bullialdus to the southeast.
Letronne is the lava-flooded remnant of a lunar impact crater. It was named after French archaeologist Jean-Antoine Letronne. The northern part of the rim is completely missing, and opens into the Oceanus Procellarum, forming a bay along the southwestern shore. The formation is located to the northwest of the large crater Gassendi.To the west-southwest is the flooded crater Billy, and north-northwest lies the smaller Flamsteed.
Bonpland is the remains of a lunar impact crater that is attached to the walled plain Fra Mauro to the north and Parry to the east. The intersection of their rims forms a three-pointed mountainous rise. To the southeast is the small crater Tolansky. Bonpland lies on the eastern edge of Mare Cognitum. It is named after Aimé Bonpland, a French explorer and botanist.
Gutenberg is a lunar impact crater that lies along the west edge of Mare Fecunditatis, in the eastern part of the visible Moon. It is named after German inventor Johannes Gutenberg. To the southeast are the craters Goclenius, Magelhaens and Colombo. To the west-southwest is the crater Gaudibert, across the Montes Pyrenaeus that run south from Gutenberg.
Mercator is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southwestern edge of Mare Nubium, in the southwest part of the Moon. It was named after 16th-century Southern Dutch cartographer Gerardus Mercator. It is located to the southeast of the crater Campanus, and the two are separated by a narrow, winding valley.
Agatharchides is a lunar impact crater located at the southern edge of Oceanus Procellarum, in the region between the Mare Humorum and Mare Nubium. To the east-southeast is the crater Bullialdus, and to the south-southwest lies Loewy. It is named after the Greek geographer Agatharchides.
Darney is a small lunar impact crater that is located on the region of the Moon where the Mare Nubium joins the Oceanus Procellarum. It was named after French astronomer Maurice Darney. To the south is the lava-flooded crater Lubiniezky. The southern rim of Darney is attached to a series of low ridges that extend to the southwest.
Campanus is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southwestern edge of Mare Nubium. It was named after Italian astronomer Campanus of Novara. It forms a crater pair with Mercator just to the southeast. Along the southern rampart of Campanus is the small lunar mare named Palus Epidemiarum. To the southwest is the small crater Dunthorne.
Gould is the remnant of a lunar impact crater formation that lies in the midst of the Mare Nubium, in the southwest quadrant of the Moon. It was named after American astronomer Benjamin A. Gould. It is located to the east-northeast of the prominent crater Bullialdus, and south of the crater remnant Opelt.
Wolf is a lunar impact crater that lies in the south-central part of the Mare Nubium, a lunar mare in the southern hemisphere of the Moon. It lies to the north-northwest of the walled plain Pitatus, and east-southeast of the prominent crater Bullialdus. It is named after the German astronomer Max Wolf.
Nichollet is a small, isolated lunar impact crater on the Mare Nubium, a lunar mare in the southwest quadrant of the Moon. It was named after French astronomer Joseph Nicollet. This crater is located to the north of the crater Pitatus, about midway between Wolf to the west and Birt to the east.
Leibnitz is a huge lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. This formation is the same size as Clavius on the near side. It is located to the east-southeast of Mare Ingenii, and is joined to the northeast rim of Von Kármán. Attached to the eastern rim of Leibnitz is Davisson, and intruding into the southeast rim is Finsen. Farther to the west is the large Oppenheimer.
G. Bond is a small lunar impact crater to the south of the Lacus Somniorum, a small lunar mare in the northeast part of the Moon's near side. It was named after the American astronomer George Phillips Bond. It lies to the east of the larger crater Posidonius, and to the south of the flooded crater remnant Hall. The crater is situated in a rugged section of terrain to the northwest of the Montes Taurus mountain region.
Weiss is a lunar impact crater along the southern edge of the Mare Nubium. It was named after Austrian astronomer Edmund Weiss. Nearly attached to the southwest rim is the crater Cichus, and Pitatus lies just over one crater diameter to the east-northeast. To the east-southeast lies the eroded Wurzelbauer.