Pilâtre (crater)
Encyclopedia
Pilâtre is a lunar
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.
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
.
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
crater
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
near the southwestern limb of the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. It is located just to the north-northwest of the much larger walled plain Hausen
Hausen (crater)
Hausen is a large lunar impact crater that lies along the south-southwestern limb of the Moon. The visibility of this crater is significantly affected by libration effects, although even under the best of conditions it is viewed nearly from on edge. It lies along the western edge of the immense...
. The satellite crater Pingré S is attached to the eastern rim, with Pingré
Pingré (crater)
Pingré is a lunar impact crater that is located near the southwest limb of the Moon, beyond the large crater Phocylides. It lies to the northwest of the huge walled basin Bailly, and to the east of the smaller Graff...
itself located farther to the northeast. Just to the west-southwest is Chappe
Chappe (crater)
Chappe is a lunar impact crater that lies along the southwestern limb of the Moon. It is nearly attached to the northern limb of the walled plain Hausen, and an equal distance from the crater Pilâtre. To the north-northwest is Blanchard....
, a formation of similar dimension to Pilâtre.
Due to its location, this crater is viewed almost from the edge from the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, limiting the amount of detail that can be observed. This part of the surface is also subject to libration
Libration
In astronomy, libration is an oscillating motion of orbiting bodies relative to each other, notably including the motion of the Moon relative to Earth, or of Trojan asteroids relative to planets.-Lunar 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
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...
.