J. Herschel Crater Honors British Astronomer John Herschel

Summary: J. Herschel Crater honors British astronomer John Herschel, son of Uranus discoverer William Herschel and nephew of comet discoverer Caroline Herschel.

Lunar near side J. Herschel Crater system of parent and 10 satellites reside in the northern sector as north polar region features on the northwestern Mare Frigoris; G. E. Ulrich’s Geologic Map of the J. Herschel Quadrangle of the Moon (1969): Dept. of Interior-US Geological Survey/NASA/USAF ACIC, via USGS Publications Warehouse

J. Herschel Crater honors British astronomer John Herschel, whose father, William, discovered the planet Uranus and 2,500 nebulae and whose aunt, Caroline, discovered eight comets and 14 nebulae.

J. Herschel Crater occupies the lunar near side’s northwestern quadrant. The large impact crater borders Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold). Its southeastern rim forms part of the mare’s northwestern edge.

J. Herschel Crater is centered at 62.31 degrees north latitude and minus 41.86 degrees west longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The north polar region crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 64.86 degrees north and 59.77 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach minus 36.37 degrees west and minus 47.35 degrees west, respectively. J. Herschel Crater’s diameter spans 154.44 kilometers.

“An extensive depression of the character of a walled plain, with a nearly perfect ring . . .” (page 11), assessed English amateur astronomer William Radcliffe Birt (July 15, 1804-Dec. 14, 1881) in his report for the British Association for the Advancement of Science’s 32nd meeting in October 1862. Birt viewed J. Herschel Crater’s “general characteristics” on Sept. 18, 1862, by way of the transit circle telescope in the observatory installed by John Lee (born John Fiott; April 28, 1783-Feb. 25, 1866) at his maternal family estate, Hartwell House, in Buckinghamshire, South East England. Birt discerned “. . . a floor pierced by a line of eruption (a common feature in several lunar forms), a nearly continuous rampart on the east and west sides . . .” (page 10).

Victorian British selenographer Thomas Gwyn Elger (Oct. 27, 1836-Jan. 9, 1897) observed the crater as a “vast enclosed plain” with “. . . a lofty but much broken wall, intersected by many passes” (page 82) in his lunar survey, The Moon: A Full Description and Map of Its Principal Physical Features, published in 1895. He described the crater’s interior: “Within is a large ring-plain, nearly central, and a large number of little craters and crater-pits. The floor is traversed longitudinally by many low ridges, lying very close together, which at sunrise resemble fine grooves or scratches of irregular width and depth.”

“The oldest recognizable materials of the J. Herschel quadrangle are in the northern terra . . . ,” observed U.S. Geological Survey astrogeologist George Erwin Ulrich in his Geologic Map of the J. Herschel Quadrant of the Moon, published in 1969. He found that “. . . densely cratered and faulted remnants of large polygonal craters such as J. Herschel (155-175 km in diameter)” characterized the quadrangle’s northern terra (highland, upland).

Ulrich also noted “dark terra material” in J. Herschel Crater’s eastern interior. He detailed the feature’s characteristics: “Forms smooth, very dark surface on east side of floor of crater J. Herschel. Topography subdued. Surrounds rimless and low-rimmed depressions, rilles, chain craters, and domes.”

Birt noted J. Herschel Crater as “. . . pierced by the crater Horrebow . . .” (page 10). Horrebow A crunches J. Herschel Crater’s southern rim. In turn, Horrebow Crater overlaps its satellite’s southwestern rim.

J. Herschel Crater parents 10 satellites. All satellites favor easterly locations with respect to their parent. Four satellites occupy J. Herschel’s interior. One is settled on its parent’s southeastern rim, slightly northeast of the overlay by Horrebow A and its parent.

The J. Herschel Crater system honors British astronomer Sir John Herschel (March 7, 1792-May 11, 1871). Sir John’s polymathic accomplishments include cataloging the southern skies during his four-year residency in South Africa; naming seven Saturnian moon and four Uranian moons; inventing the photographic processes of cyanotype (now known as blueprints) and chrysotype; and co-illustrating 131 South African flora with his wife, Margaret Brodie Stewart Herschel (Aug. 16, 1810-Aug. 3, 1884).

The IAU approved the parent crater’s name in 1935, during the organization’s Vth (5th) General Assembly, held Wednesday, July 10, to Wednesday, July 17, in Paris, France. J. Herschel Crater’s 10 satellites received approval of their designations in 2006, during the XXVIth (26th) General Assembly, held Monday, Aug. 14, to Friday, Aug. 25, in Prague, Czech Republic.

Credit as the original namers of the J. Herschel Crater system goes to William Radcliffe Birt and John Lee. Birt named the crater in his October 1862 article, “On a Group of Lunar Craters Imperfectly Represented in Lunar Maps” (page 10). He stated: “It is proposed, in accordance with a suggestion by Dr. Lee, to designate this depression ‘Herschel II.’” The designation distinguished the north polar region crater from Herschel Crater, the southern equatorial crater named for John Herschel’s father, Uranus discoverer William Herschel (Nov. 15, 1738-Aug. 25, 1822).

The takeaway for J. Herschel Crater, which honors 19th-century British astronomer John Herschel, is that the north polar impact crater’s southeastern rim forms part of the northwestern edge of Mare Frigoris.

Lunar Orbiter 4 photograph, taken in 1967, shows J. Herschel Crater (upper left), with Horrebow A and Horrebow Crater (center left) attached to southern border, on Mare Frigoris (center left to right); D. Bowker and K. Hughes, Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon (1971); Lunar Orbiter IV photograph IV-152-H1 Plate 16: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA NTRS (NASA Technical Reports Server)

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Lunar near side J. Herschel Crater system of parent and 10 satellites reside in the northern sector as north polar region features on the northwestern Mare Frigoris; G. E. Ulrich’s Geologic Map of the J. Herschel Quadrangle of the Moon (1969): Dept. of Interior-US Geological Survey/NASA/USAF ACIC, via USGS Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/0604/plate-1.pdf

Lunar Orbiter 4 photograph, taken in 1967, shows J. Herschel Crater (upper left), with Horrebow A and Horrebow Crater (center left) attached to southern border, on Mare Frigoris (center left to right); D. Bowker and K. Hughes, Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon (1971); Lunar Orbiter IV photograph IV-152-H1 Plate 16: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA NTRS (NASA Technical Reports Server) @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/Lunar/lac_24_wac.pdf

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