Piazzi Smyth is a small
lunar 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 crater ...
in the eastern part of the
Mare Imbrium. It was named after Scottish astronomer
Charles Piazzi Smyth
Charles Piazzi Smyth (3 January 1819 – 21 February 1900) was an Italian-born British astronomer who was Astronomer Royal for Scotland from 1846 to 1888; he is known for many innovations in astronomy and, along with his wife Jessica Duncan P ...
.
This is an isolated feature located about 100 kilometers to the southwest of 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 ...
mountain range. To the southeast of this crater is
Mons Piton, an isolated mountain that rises to a height of 2.3 km and occupies a diameter of about 25 km.
![Piazzi Smyth crater AS15-M-1542](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Piazzi_Smyth_crater_AS15-M-1542.jpg)
This crater is a nicely circular feature with a rim and interior that have not been significantly modified by impacts. The inner walls slope smoothly downwards to the small floor about the midpoint, which occupies a diameter of only one-fifth the total diameter of the crater. This formation has no other notable features, and its
albedo
Albedo (; ) is the measure of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation out of the total solar radiation and measured on a scale from 0, corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation, to 1, corresponding to a body that refl ...
matches the surrounding
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 ...
plain.
Satellite craters
![PiazziSmyth lunar crater map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/PiazziSmyth_lunar_crater_map.jpg)
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Piazzi Smyth.
See also
* Asteroid
9714 Piazzismyth
References
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Impact craters on the Moon