Condon Crater Honors 20th-Century American Physicist Edward Condon

Summary: Condon Crater honors 20th-century American physicist Edward Condon, whose interest in astronomy was sparked by Halley’s Comet’s Earth approach in 1910.

Detail of Lunar Astronautical Chart (LAC) 62 shows Condon Crater (center right), with adjoining Webb satellite F, in the lunar near side’s northeastern quadrant, lying along eastern Sinus Successus (Bay of Success); courtesy NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) / GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) / ASU (Arizona State University): U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

The Lunar near side’s Condon Crater honors 20th-century American physicist Edward Condon, who traced his childhood interest in astronomy to Halley’s Comet’s Earth approach in 1910.

Condon Crater is a lunar impact crater in the lunar near side’s northeastern quadrant. The lava-flooded crater presents a nearly level interior floor. Low segments of the crater’s western and eastern rim survive despite breaks in the south-southwest and especially in the north-northwest.

Mark Tillotson and Jim Mosher’s The Moon-Wiki mentions a “bright raycraterlet on the northeastern part of Condon’s rim.” The bright craterlet is discernible in stereo pairs AS17-P-2915 and AS17-P-2920 obtained during lunar revolution 74 by Apollo 17’s 610-meter (24-inch) Itek panoramic camera.

Condon Crater is centered at 1.87 degrees north latitude, 60.36 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater marks northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 2.45 degrees north and 1.3 degrees north, respectively. The eastern hemisphere crater obtains easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 60.94 degrees east and 59.79 degrees east, respectively. Condon Crater has a diameter of 34.85 kilometers.

Condon Crater is sited on the eastern shore of Sinus Successus. The Bay of Success forms an outward bulge on the northeastern edge of Mare Fecunditatis (Sea of Fecundity). Sinus Successus is centered at 1.12 degrees north latitude, 58.52 degrees east longitude. The equator-straddling bay registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 2.87 degrees north and 0.86 degrees south, respectively. The eastern hemisphere bay’s easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at 60.19 degrees east and 56.52 degrees east, respectively. The bay’s diameter measures 126.65 kilometers.

Webb Crater satellite F nestles against Condon’s southeastern rim. The satellite’s parent crater, Webb Crater, lies to the southwest, in northeastern Mare Fecunditatis. Webb F is centered at 1.47 degrees north latitude, 61 degrees east longitude. F posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 1.62 degrees north and 1.32 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at 61.15 degrees east and 60.85 degrees east, respectively. Webb F has a diameter of 9.54 kilometers.

Webb G sprouts from F’s northeastern rim but avoids contact with Condon. Webb G is centered at 1.67 degrees north latitude, 61.22 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes reach 1.82 degrees north and 1.52 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes only extend to 61.37 degrees east and 61.07 degrees east, respectively. Webb G has a diameter of 9.07 kilometers.

Prior to 1974, Condon Crater was considered as a satellite of Webb Crater. Condon’s satellite designation was Webb R.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Lunar Topographic Orthophotomap LTO62C4, entitled “Condon” and published August 1974, introduced the crater’s replacement name as Condon. The map’s notations under Names Information indicated Condon’s name as “provisional pending IAU approval.” “Condon (Webb R)” appeared under “New names; names in parentheses are those being replaced.”

The International Astronomical Union formally approved Webb R satellite’s upgrade to a primary crater named Condon in 1976 during the organization’s XVIth (16th) General Assembly, which was held Tuesday, Aug. 24, to Tuesday, Sept. 21, in Grenoble, France. The crater honors 20th-century American physicist Edward Uhler Condon (March 2, 1902-March 26, 1974).

In an Oct. 17, 1967, interview with Charles Weiner (died Jan. 28, 2012), director of the American Institute of Physics’ (AIP) Center for the History of Physics, Condon traced his interest in astronomy to Earth’s close passage through Halley’s Comet’s tail in March 1910. Condon guessed that his eight-year-old self read “all” of the Denver Public Library’s astronomy books.

Condon received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1926. His dissertation synthesized band spectral intensity analyses by his adviser, Raymond Thayer Birge (March 13, 1887-March 22, 1980), with German physicist James Franck’s (Aug. 26, 1882-May 21, 1964) suggestion concerning diatomic molecular disintegration to formulate his own explanation for intensity irregularities. The Franck-Condon principle pertains to spectroscopy and quantum chemistry.

The takeaways for the lunar near side’s Condon Crater, which honors 20th-century American physicist Edward Condon, are that the lava-flooded lunar impact crater occupies the northeastern quadrant, lying along the eastern Sinus Successus (Bay of Success); that, prior to 1976, Condon was thought to be a satellite of the southeastern quadrant’s Webb Crater; and that the crater’s namesake was an American physicist who credited Halley’s Comet’s close passage in 1910 with inspiring his interest, as an eight-year-old, in astronomy.

Detail of Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography Map shows lunar near side’s Condon Crater (upper right) along eastern Sinus Successus; prior to 1976, Condon Crater, under the designation of Webb R, was considered a satellite of Webb Crater (center right): U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Detail of Lunar Astronautical Chart (LAC) 62 shows Condon Crater (center right), with adjoining Webb satellite F, in the lunar near side’s northeastern quadrant, lying along eastern Sinus Successus (Bay of Success); courtesy NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) / GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) / ASU (Arizona State University): U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/Lunar/lac_62_wac.pdf

Detail of Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography Map shows lunar near side’s Condon Crater (upper right) along eastern Sinus Successus; prior to 1976, Condon Crater, under the designation of Webb R, was considered a satellite of Webb Crater (center right): U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/moon_nearside.pdf

For further information:

Condon, E.U. (Edward Uhler). “The Franck-Condon Principle and Related Topics.” American Journal of Physics, vol. 15, no. 5 (September-October 1947): 365-374.
Available @ https://web.chem.ucsb.edu/~devries/chem218/Condon%20on%20Franck-Condon.pdf

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International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Target: The Moon.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/MOON/target

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Webb.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/6504

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Webb F.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/13829

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Webb G.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/13830

Levy, David H. Skywatching. Revised and updated. San Francisco CA: Fog City Press, 1994.

Marriner, Derdriu. “Near Side Lunar Crater Swift Honors American Astronomer Lewis Swift.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/01/near-side-lunar-crater-swift-honors.html

The Moon Wiki. “Condon.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > C Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Condon

The Moon Wiki. “IAU Directions.” The Moon.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/IAU_directions

The Moon Wiki. “Sinus Successus.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > S Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Sinus_Successus

The Moon Wiki. “Webb.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > W Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Webb

Moore, Patrick, Sir. Philip’s Atlas of the Universe. Revised edition. London UK: Philip’s, 2005.

Morse, Philip M. Edward Uhler Condon 1902-1974. National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir. Washington DC: National Academy of Sciences, 1976.
Available via NAS (National Academy of Sciences) Online @ http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/condon-edward-u-1902-1974.pdf

Müller, E. (Edith); and A. (Arnost) Jappel, eds. XVIth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. XVI B Proceedings of the 16th General Assembly Grenoble, France, August 24-September 21, 1976. Cambridge UK: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Jan. 1, 1977.
Available via IAU @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

Weiner, Charles. “Edward Condon -- Session I.” IP American Institute of Physics > Programs and Resources > History Programs > Niels Bohr Library and Archives > Oral Histories. Oct. 17, 1967.
Available @ https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/4997-1