Pikel'ner (crater)


Pikel'ner is an impact crater on the Moon's far side, named for the Russian astronomer Solomon Pikelner. It lies to the southeast of the larger crater Van der Waals, and to the north of the Vallis Planck cleft. Pikel'ner overlies more than half of the satellite crater Pikel'ner Y to the north. Almost contacting the southwestern outer rim of Pikel'ner is a larger concentric crater formation with the smaller crater of the pair, Pikel'ner S, along the northern edge of the pair.
The outer rim of Pikel'ner is well-defined with little erosion, giving it the appearance of a relatively young feature. The interior floor is somewhat uneven, possibly due to deposits of ejecta or fall-back material. It is free of impacts of note within the interior.

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 Pikel'ner.
Pikel'nerLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
F48.0° S127.6° E30 km
G49.1° S128.3° E24 km
K50.3° S124.8° E36 km
S48.7° S120.2° E62 km
Y47.4° S123.1° E52 km