Pascal is a

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 ...

impact crater An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...

that lies near the northern limb of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, on the western side of the pole. It is located to the north of the eroded crater

Desargues Girard Desargues (; 21 February 1591 – September 1661) was a French mathematician and engineer, who is considered one of the founders of projective geometry. Desargues' theorem, the Desargues graph, and the crater Desargues (crater), Desarg ...

, and just east of Brianchon. Pascal can be located by finding the crater

Carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

and then following the surface to the northwest towards the limb. However the visibility of this formation can be affected by

libration In lunar astronomy, libration is the wagging or wavering of the Moon perceived by Earth-bound observers and caused by changes in their perspective. It permits an observer to see slightly different hemispheres of the surface at different tim ...

. This crater has undergone a degree of impact erosion that has left its features softened and rounded. The rim can still be followed around the perimeter, but it is no longer sharp-edged and the interior

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

s have been all but worn away. Several craters lie across the outer rim, including the sharp-edged Pascal F intruding into the northwest rim; a more worn Pascal A intruding into the southwest; and the small, bowl-shaped Pascal G along the southeast rim. Within the wide inner walls is a nearly level interior floor that has been resurfaced by

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

. At the midpoint is a low ridge, forming a minor central peak. There are tiny craters at the north end of the floor, and at the northeast end of the central ridge. There is also a small chain of craterlets lying across the northeast inner wall. Just to the north of Pascal is Poncelet C, a satellite crater of the

-flooded

Poncelet The poncelet (symbol p) is an obsolete unit of power, once used in France and replaced by (ch, metric horsepower). The unit was named after Jean-Victor Poncelet.François Cardarelli, ''Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures: The ...

to the east. The rim of this crater is bisected by several grooves in the surface, one of which crosses the southeast rim and cuts across tangentially to the northeastern rim of Pascal.

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 Pascal.

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Impact craters on the Moon