Giordano Bruno Crater Honors Italian Cosmologist Giordano Bruno

Summary: Giordano Bruno Crater honors Italian cosmologist Giordano Bruno, whose contributions included affirming the sun-centered universe of Copernicus.

Detail of Apollo 11 Hasselblad camera image shows bright ray system centered on the lunar far side’s Giordano Bruno Crater (top center); July 1969; NASA ID AS11-44-6665: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons

The lunar far side’s Giordano Bruno Crater honors Italian cosmologist Giordano Bruno, whose 16th-century astronomical contributions included affirming the sun-centered model of the universe formulated by Renaissance-era Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.

Giordano Bruno is a lunar impact crater in the lunar far side’s northwestern quadrant. A high albedo, symmetrical ray system of ejecta centers on the northern hemisphere crater. Conspicuous brightness characterizes the crater’s rim.

Giordano Bruno Crater is centered at 35.97 degrees north latitude, 102.89 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 36.33 degrees north and 35.6 degrees north, respectively. The crater obtains its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 103.34 degrees east and 102.44 degrees east, respectively. Giordano Bruno has a diameter of 22.13 kilometers.

Giordano Bruno is positioned between two large named craters. Rays from Giordano Bruno Crater extend across Szilard Crater, which lies to the southeast. Harkhebi is Giordano Bruno’s northwestern neighbor.

Szilard Crater is centered at 33.71 degrees north latitude, 105.78 degrees east longitude. The impact-eroded crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend from 35.8 degrees north to 31.61 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 108.3 degrees east and 103.26 degrees east, respectively. Szilard Crater’s diameter measures 127.22 kilometers.

Harkhebi Crater is centered at 40.87 degrees north latitude, 98.74 degrees east longitude. The worn crater records northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 46.36 degrees north and 35.34 degrees north, respectively. It registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 104.6 degrees east and 92.94 degrees east, respectively. Harkhebi Crater’s diameter spans 337.14 kilometers.

Two of Harkhebi’s six satellites frame Giordano Bruno Crater in their overlying positions on their parent’s southeastern rim. Satellite J lies to the north-northeast of Giordano Bruno. Satellite K is positioned to the west of Giordano Bruno.

Harkhebi J is centered at 37.42 degrees north latitude, 103.36 degrees east longitude, respectively. It marks northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 38.11 degrees north and 36.73 degrees north, respectively. The satellite finds its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 104.23 degrees east and 102.49 degrees east, respectively. Harkhebi J’s diameter measures 43.11 kilometers.

Harkhebi K is centered at 35.81 degrees north latitude, 100.76 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes touch 36.23 degrees north and 35.38 degrees north, respectively. It posts easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 101.29 degrees east and 100.24 degrees east, respectively. Harkhebi K has a diameter of 25.92 kilometers.

Harkhebi K’s diameter qualifies it as the smaller of the two Harkhebi satellites that neighbor Giordano Bruno. Its diameter is 15 percent larger than Giordano Bruno’s 22.13-kilometer diameter.

Giordano Bruno Crater is named in honor of 16th-century Italian cosmologist Giordano Bruno (January? 1548-Feb. 17, 1600). The International Astronomical Union’s approval of the crater’s official name occurred in 1961 during the organization’s XIth (11th) General Assembly, held in Berkeley, California, from Tuesday, Aug. 15, to Thursday, Aug. 24.

Giordano Bruno’s astronomical contributions include his support of the heliocentric (“sun-centered”) model of the universe formulated by Renaissance-era Polish polymath Nicolaus Copernicus (Feb. 19, 1473-May 24, 1543). Bruno also expressed his understanding of the universe as infinite and of relativity’s inertial reference frames.

The 16th-century Dominican friar presented his cosmological model in a trilogy, beginning with Cena de le Ceneri (The Ash Wednesday Supper), published in London, England, in 1584. De la Causa, Principio et Uno (Cause, Principle and Unity) and De l’Infinito, Universo et Mondi (On the Infinite Universe and Worlds) comprised the trilogy’s second and third installments. Bruno’s ship illustrated relativity’s inertia, termed by Bruno as virtù (“power, quality”), in the third of five dialogues presented in La Cena de le Ceneri. He also discussed soli innumerabili ("innumerable suns") orbited by terre infinite ("an infinite number of earths") in the third dialogue.

The takeaways for the lunar far side’s Giordano Bruno Crater, which honors Italian cosmologist Giordano Bruno, are that the bright-rimmed lunar impact crater is located in the far side’s northwestern quadrant; that Giordano Bruno Crater lies between two larger impact craters, Harkhebi and Szilard; and that the crater’s namesake, 16th-century Italian cosmologist Giordano Bruno, tackled relativity’s inertia via Bruno’s ship, a sun-centered universe and infinite universes of earths orbiting suns in his writings.

Oblique view, obtained by Apollo 16 mapping camera, shows bright-rimmed Giordano Bruno Crater; April 1972; NASA ID AS16-M-3008: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Detail of Apollo 11 Hasselblad camera image shows bright ray system centered on the lunar far side’s Giordano Bruno Crater (top center); July 1969; NASA ID AS11-44-6665: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Giordano_Bruno_crater_rays_AS11-44-6665HR.jpg

Oblique view, obtained by Apollo 16 mapping camera, shows bright-rimmed Giordano Bruno Crater; April 1972; NASA ID AS16-M-3008: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Giordano_Bruno_crater_AS16-M-3008_ASU.jpg

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