Jump to content

Petit (crater)

Coordinates: 2°18′N 63°30′E / 2.3°N 63.5°E / 2.3; 63.5
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by WOSlinker (talk | contribs) at 23:29, 30 January 2020 (fix). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Petit
Apollo 15 image
Coordinates2°18′N 63°30′E / 2.3°N 63.5°E / 2.3; 63.5
Diameter5 km
Depth1 km
Colongitude297° at sunrise
EponymAlexis T. Petit
Not to be confused with Pettit, another lunar crater.
Oblique view from Apollo 10 (in color)
Interior of Petit, showing flat crater floor of impact melt with no visible craters
Oblique view from Apollo 16
Oblique view from Apollo 17

Petit is a small, bowl-shaped lunar impact crater that is located on the northwestern edge of the Mare Spumans. The crater has a prominent ray system. The name is appropriate, since Petit means small in French. But it was actually named in honor of Alexis Thérèse Petit, a French physicist.

The crater lies to the south of the crater Townley, and east of Condon. Farther to the northwest is Apollonius. Petit was previously designated Apollonius W before being given a name by the IAU.

References

  • Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • 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. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • 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. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)