Saussure (crater)

Saussure

Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates	43°18′S 3°48′W / 43.3°S 3.8°W / -43.3; -3.8
Diameter	54 km
Depth	1.8 km
Colongitude	187° at sunrise
Eponym	H-B de Saussure

Saussure is a lunar impact crater. It is located in the crater-riddled terrain in the southern hemisphere of the Moon's near side. Just to the north and nearly attached to the rim is the larger crater Orontius. About a half crater diameter due west is the slightly larger crater Pictet. Just to the east is a curving ridge in the surface, possibly the remains of a crater that has been almost completely overlaid by Saussure.

The outer rim of Saussure is worn but relatively intact, with only the southern edge being somewhat disrupted. A small impact lies across the northeastern rim and a pair of craterlets along the western edge. The inner walls are relatively featureless, and slope down to the generally level interior floor. This bottom surface is marked only by a few tiny craters.

It was named after 18th century Genevan geologist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure.^[1] He was the professor, and later colleague and friend of Marc-Auguste Pictet (eponym of nearby Pictet crater).^{[citation needed]}