science

Pitatus (crater)

Pitatus (crater) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pitatus (crater) rather than just read about it. In short: Pitatus is an ancient lunar impact crater located at the southern edge of Mare Nubium. It was named after Italian astronomer Pietro Pitati by the IAU in 1935.

Key takeaways

Pitatus (crater) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pitatus (crater) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pitatus (crater) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Pitatus is an ancient lunar impact crater located at the southern edge of Mare Nubium. It was named after Italian astronomer Pietro Pitati by the IAU in 1935. Joined to the northwest rim is the crater Hesiodus, and the two are joined by a narrow cleft. To the south lie the attached Wurzelbauer and Gauricus.

Description This formation dates to the Nectarian epoch of the lunar geologic timescale. The complex wall of Pitatus is heavily worn, and has been encroached by lava flows. The rim is lowest to the north, where the lava almost joins the Mare Nubium. Near the middle is a low central peak that is offset to the northwest of center. This peak only rises to a height of 0.5 km. Pitatus is a floor-fractured crater, meaning it was flooded from the interior by magma intrusion through cracks and openings. The flooded crater floor contains low hills in the east and a system of slender clefts named the Rimae Pitatus. The larger and more spectacular of these rilles follow the edges of the inner walls, especially in the northern and eastern halves. The floor also contains the faint traces of deposited ray markings. Just to the north of Pitatus in the neighboring mare is the half-buried rim of Pitatus S, covered in the past when Mare Nubium was formed.

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 Pitatus.

References

Sources

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pitatus (crater)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pitatus (crater) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pitatus (crater) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pitatus (crater) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pitatus (crater)

In research: Pitatus (crater) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pitatus (crater) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pitatus (crater) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Impact craters on the Moon, LQ19 quadrangle, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pitatus (crater) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Pitatus (crater)” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Pitatus (crater) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pitatus (crater) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pitatus (crater) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pitatus (crater) in simple terms?

Pitatus is an ancient lunar impact crater located at the southern edge of Mare Nubium. It was named after Italian astronomer Pietro Pitati by the IAU in 1935.

Why does Pitatus (crater) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pitatus (crater)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pitatus (crater).