Petit (crater)

Petit

Apollo 15 image
Coordinates	2°18′N 63°30′E / 2.3°N 63.5°ECoordinates: 2°18′N 63°30′E / 2.3°N 63.5°E
Diameter	5 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	297° at sunrise
Eponym	Alexis T. Petit

Oblique view from Apollo 10

Oblique view from Apollo 11

Not to be confused with Pettit, another lunar crater.

Petit is a small, bowl-shaped lunar 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.
• Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
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