In many cases where large, high-walled craters lie close to the edge of a lava basin, <\/span>the basin lava has broken <\/span>through<\/span> the ramparts to resurface<\/span> the <\/span>crater floor.<\/span><\/p>\n In the case of Pitatus<\/span>, it\u2019s believed the floor lava welled up from within the crater itself.<\/span><\/p>\n For more info on getting the most out of the Moon, read our guide on how to observe the Moon<\/a> and the best features on the Moon<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The three-quarter, <\/span>octagonal-shaped<\/span> rim appears<\/span> eroded to the north. Pitatus\u2019s smooth floor has a small, central mountain.<\/span><\/p>\n A rough hilly region lies north of the mountain but the rest of the floor is relatively smooth with just a few tiny craterlets and a number of subtle domes, visible when the terminator is near. <\/span><\/p>\n Things start to get interesting <\/span>closer to the rim. A\u00a0curious crack,<\/span> or rille, runs parallel to it. <\/span><\/p>\n Using a 10-inch\u00a0scope under steady seeing<\/a>, the rille can be spotted close to the northern edge of the rim.<\/span><\/p>\n It follows the inside profile of the crater to the east and round to the southeast.\u00a0<\/span>In high-resolution images, you can follow this crack virtually all the way round.<\/span><\/p>\n A thin rille appears to join the rim to the central mountain to the southwest.<\/span><\/p>\n The western rim is odd because it appears gouged out; it\u2019s almost as if a giant finger has been run along it, causing a groove.<\/p>\n Closer inspection suggests this is a line of small craters, perfectly aligned to the curve of the rim.<\/p>\n The ray crater Tycho lies 410km to the south and slightly east of Pitatus. During the fuller phases of the Moon<\/a>, bright Tycho Crater<\/a> (86km wide) and dark Pitatus (98km) look like negatives of one another.<\/span><\/p>\n When the Sun is high in the lunar sky, <\/span>Pitatus\u2019s floor looks dark, but look<\/span> closely and you should be able to see patches of\u00a0bright ejecta from Tycho, which is roughly one-third the\u00a0age of Pitatus.<\/span><\/p>\n Pitatus touches crater Hesiodus (43km) to the west. They are connected by a gap in their rims.<\/span><\/p>\n Hesiodus has a tiny 5km craterlet at its centre called Hesiodus D. However, the real treat is Hesiodus A (15km), which touches the southern wall of its parent crater. The floor of Hesiodus A contains two concentric rings. <\/span><\/p>\n Located 73km to the north of Pitatus\u2019s centre is a superb <\/span>horseshoe crater called Pitatus\u00a0S.<\/span> Here, a perfectly circular crater has become flooded by Mare Nubium lava.<\/span><\/p>\n However, <\/span>not all the crater has disappeared<\/span> \u2013 a delicately thin semicircle of crater wall can still be seen.<\/span><\/p>\n While Pitatus is pretty ancient, to the south of it lie two even older craters in the form of Gauricus (80km) and Wurzelbauer (88km).<\/span><\/p>\n Gauricus <\/span>has a smooth round cross-sectioned rim surrounding a flat crater floor. Wurzelbauer looks really ancient. Here the rim is ill defined and rather ragged.<\/span><\/p>\n![\""Pitatus\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2019\/02\/pitatus2-af6c7d3.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C465"\" "\\"\"Moon_Nubium_001\"\\"")
<\/div>Facts about Crater Pitatus<\/strong><\/h1>\n
![\""Take\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2021\/08\/Crater-Pitatus-Moon-a66bc01.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C687"\" "\\"\"Take\\"")
<\/div>![\""Tycho\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2019\/02\/TYCHO-27e2a02-e1603190530561.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C318"\" "\\"\"Moon_Tycho_017\"\\"")
<\/div>