Pitiscus (crater)


Pitiscus is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southern part of the Moon's near side, just to the northwest of the larger crater Hommel. It was named after German mathematician Bartholomaeus Pitiscus. The crater is worn, but still forms a prominent feature upon the surface. The rim is roughly circular, but appears oval from the Earth due to foreshortening. There is an outward bulge to the south-southeast where the interior has slumped. The remainder of the inner wall still displays s, although they are worn and rounded due to erosion.
The interior floor is level and appears to have been resurfaced by lava. There is a low central peak formation at the midpoint of the interior, and the northern end of this ridge is overlaid by the circular craterlet Pitiscus A. A slumped and somewhat irregular crater, Pitiscus E, lies along the inner wall to the west-southwest. The interior floor is also marked by several other tiny craterlets alongside the eastern interior wall.

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 Pitiscus.
PitiscusLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A50.3° S30.9° E10 km
B47.7° S30.5° E25 km
C47.1° S28.3° E17 km
D49.0° S26.5° E22 km
E50.9° S29.3° E13 km
F46.9° S29.5° E13 km
G47.6° S25.2° E15 km
J48.2° S26.5° E7 km
K46.3° S29.9° E16 km
L51.2° S33.6° E9 km
R48.6° S28.3° E25 km
S47.7° S27.6° E28 km
T46.9° S27.9° E8 km
U48.9° S33.3° E6 km
V49.3° S34.3° E5 km
W50.3° S27.7° E24 km