Mons Piton
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Mons Piton is an isolated
lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
that is located in the eastern part of the
Mare Imbrium Mare Imbrium (Latin ''imbrium'', the "Sea of Showers" or "Sea of Rains") is a vast lunar mare, lava plain within the Imbrium Basin on the Moon and is one of the larger craters in the Solar System. The Imbrium Basin formed from the collision ...
, to the north-northwest of the crater
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. Due east of Mons Piton is the flooded crater Cassini, and to the west-northwest lies Piazzi Smyth. North and northeast of this
massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...
is the
Montes Alpes Montes Alpes is a mountain range in the northern part of the Moon's near side. It was named after the Alps in Europe; the name was confirmed by the International Astronomical Union in 1935. It lies between the selenographic coordinates latitudes ...
range, forming the northeast edge of the
lunar mare The lunar maria ( ; mare ) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by lava flowing into ancient impact basins. They are less reflective than the "highlands" as a result of their iron-rich composition, and hence appear dark to ...
. The selenographic
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s of this rise are 40.6° N, 1.1° W, and it has a diameter of 25 km. It is slightly elongated along toward the northwest, with ridge lines to the south, northwest, and west. The peak climbs to a height of 2250 m, typical of the peaks in the Montes Alpes, but much lower than Mons Blanc, which rises to 3.6 km. Because it is an isolated formation on the lunar mare, this peak can form prominent shadows when illuminated by oblique sunlight during the lunar dawn or dusk. It is also known as a location of Transient Lunar Anomalies. The peak of Piton is cratered from a meteor strike, though the crater can be difficult to observe from earthbound telescopes. There is a pair of satellite
crater A crater is a landform consisting of a hole or depression (geology), depression on a planetary surface, usually caused either by an object hitting the surface, or by geological activity on the planet. A crater has classically been described ...
s on the mare to the south that are named for this peak (see below). To the south-southwest is a low ridge feature in an isolated portion of the mare that is designated Piton Gamma (γ). Mons Piton was named for a peak on
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. The lunar Mons Piton is located in a range known as the Montes Teneriffe.


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 Mons Piton. Both Piton A and B are to the south of Mons Piton.


References


External links


Exposed Layers
within Piton B crater


See also

*
List of mountains on the Moon This is a list of mountains on the Moon (with a scope including all named ''mons'' and ''montes'', planetary science jargon terms roughly equivalent to 'isolated mountain'/'massif' and 'mountain range'). Caveats * This list is not comprehensiv ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piton, Mons category:mountains on the Moon category:Mare Imbrium