Picard (crater)

For other uses, see Picard (disambiguation).
The crater area (on the bottom right) in selenochromatic format
Picard
Apollo 17 Mapping camera image
Coordinates14°34′N 54°43′E / 14.57°N 54.72°E / 14.57; 54.72
Diameter22.35 km (13.89 mi)
Depth2.4 km[1]
Colongitude306° at sunrise
EponymJean-Félix Picard

Picard is a lunar impact crater that lies in Mare Crisium. The crater is named for 17th century French astronomer and geodesist Jean Picard.[2] It is the biggest non-flooded crater of this mare, being slightly larger than Peirce to the north-northwest. To the west is the almost completely flooded crater Yerkes. To east of Picard is the tiny Curtis.

Picard is a crater from the Eratosthenian period, which lasted from 3.2 to 1.1 billion years ago.[3] Inside Picard is a series of terraces that seismologists have attributed to a collapse of the crater floor. It has a cluster of low hills at the bottom.[4]

Satellite craters

Satellite craters of Picard

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Picard.[5]

Oblique Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Oblique Apollo 15 Panoramic Camera image, facing south
Picard Coordinates Diameter, km
K 9°44′N 54°34′E / 9.73°N 54.56°E / 9.73; 54.56 (Picard K) 9
L 10°19′N 54°19′E / 10.32°N 54.31°E / 10.32; 54.31 (Picard L) 7
M 10°13′N 53°57′E / 10.21°N 53.95°E / 10.21; 53.95 (Picard M) 8
N 10°31′N 53°34′E / 10.52°N 53.57°E / 10.52; 53.57 (Picard N) 19
P 8°49′N 53°37′E / 8.82°N 53.62°E / 8.82; 53.62 (Picard P) 8
Y 13°11′N 60°16′E / 13.18°N 60.27°E / 13.18; 60.27 (Picard Y) 4

The following craters have been renamed by the IAU.

References

  1. ^ LTO-62A1 Yerkes — L&PI topographic map
  2. ^ "Picard (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  3. ^ The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. By Don E. Wilhelms, John F. McCauley, and Newell J. Trask. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington: 1987. Table 12.2.
  4. ^ Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co.. ISBN 0-304-35469-4.
  5. ^ Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81528-2.
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