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
A ray system comprises radial streaks of fine ''ejecta'' thrown out during the formation of an impact crater, looking somewhat like many thin spokes coming from the hub of a wheel. The rays may extend for lengths up to several times the diameter ...
. The name is appropriate, since ''petite'' means small in French. But it was actually named in honor of
Alexis Thérèse Petit
Alexis Thérèse Petit (; 2 October 1791, Vesoul, Haute-Saône – 21 June 1820, Paris) was a French physicist.
Petit is known for his work on the efficiencies of air- and steam-engines, published in 1818 (''Mémoire sur l’emploi du principe ...
, a French
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...
.
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
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach ...
.
External links
LTO-62C4 Condon— L&PI
topographic map
In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but histori ...
References
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{{Authority control
Impact craters on the Moon