Sheepshanks Crater Honors British Astronomical Benefactor Anne Sheepshanks

Summary: The lunar near side’s Sheepshanks Crater honors British astronomical benefactor Anne Sheepshanks, whose gifts included books, equipment and funding

Detail of Lunar Astronautical Charts (LAC) 13 shows the Sheepshanks Crater system, occupants of northern Mare Frigoris in the lunar near side’s northeastern quadrant; 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 Sheepshanks Crater honors British astronomical benefactor Anne Sheepshanks, whose beneficence included books, equipment and a university scholarship.

Sheepshanks Crater occurs as a middle-latitude impact crater in the lunar near side’s northeastern quadrant. Sheepshanks is centered at 59.24 degrees north latitude, 17.04 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater records northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 59.64 degrees north and 58.85 degrees north, respectively. It registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 17.8 degrees east and 16.28 degrees east, respectively. Sheepshanks Crater’s diameter measures 23.67 kilometers.

Sheepshanks Crater lies in the foothills on the northern edge of Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold). The middle-latitude dark basaltic plain is centered at 57.59 degrees north latitude, minus 0.01 degrees west longitude. The lunar mare’s northernmost latitude of 64.38 degrees north taps the moon’s north polar region. Its southernmost latitude touches 49.08 degrees north. The eastern and western hemisphere straddler obtains easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 38.03 degrees east and minus 43.14 degrees west, respectively. Mare Frigoris has a diameter of 1,446.41 kilometers.

As the primary crater in the Sheepshanks Crater system, Sheepshanks parents three satellites. Two satellites, A and B, hover to the northeast of their parent. Sheepshanks C’s south-southeasterly location on Mare Frigoris qualifies it as the most distant of the Sheepshanks Crater system’s three satellites.

Sheepshanks A claims the closest position to its parent, with its site between its parent and satellite B. Sheepshanks A is centered at 60 degrees north latitude, 18.96 degrees east longitude. It posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 60.11 degrees north and 59.89 degrees north, respectively. It marks easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 19.17 degrees east and 18.74 degrees east. Sheepshanks A has a diameter of 6.65 kilometers.

Sheepshanks B’s northeasterly location qualifies it as the most northerly and the most easterly of the Sheepshanks Crater system’s three craters. Satellite B is centered at 60.32 degrees north latitude, 21.09 degrees east longitude. It obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 60.4 degrees north and 60.25 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at 21.25 degrees east and 20.93 degrees east, respectively. Sheepshanks B’s diameter of 4.77 kilometers qualifies it as the smallest of the Sheepshanks Crater system’s three satellites.

Sheepshanks C’s placement on northern Mare Frigoris qualifies it as the most southerly of the Sheepshanks Crater system’s three satellites. Satellite C is centered at 57.03 degrees north latitude, 18.09 degrees east longitude. Sheepshanks C records northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 57.2 degrees north and 56.86 degrees north, respectively. It registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 18.4 degrees east and 17.77 degrees east, respectively. Sheepshanks C’s diameter of 10.39 kilometers qualifies it as the largest of the Sheepshanks Crater system’s three satellites.

Sheepshanks Crater honors British astronomical benefactor Anne Sheepshanks (1789-Feb. 8, 1855). The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved Sheepshanks as the crater’s official name in 1935, during the organization’s Vth (5th) General Assembly, held in Paris, France, from Wednesday, July 10, to Wednesday, July 17. Approval of the letter designations for the Sheepshanks Crater system’s three satellites was given in 2006.

Anne Sheepshanks was born in the Industrial Revolution’s major mill town of Leeds in Northern England’s county of West Yorkshire. She was the middle child and only daughter of Joseph Sheepshanks, a successful textile manufacturer. Her older brother, John (1787-1863), partnered in the family business and bequeathed his art collection to the London’s Victoria & Albert Museum.

The family’s wealth allowed Anne’s younger brother, Richard (July 30, 1794-Aug. 4, 1855), to pursue his interests in astronomy. He served as secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and edited the society’s journal, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS), from 1829 until his death.

In 1862, Anne Sheepshanks became the third woman to be named an Honorary Member of the Royal Astronomical Society. Uranus discover William Herschel’s sister Caroline Lucretia Herschel (March 16, 1750-Jan. 9, 1848) and Scottish astronomer Mary Fairfax Greig Somerville (Dec. 26, 1780-Nov. 29, 1872) had become the society’s first and second female Honorary Members in 1835.

As her brother Richard’s heir, Anne gifted the Royal Astronomical Society with telescopes and other astronomical instruments from Richard’s extensive collection. The Society made the bequests available for loan to active astronomers. Anne also donated 192 volumes from her brother’s library to the Society.

Anne’s benefactions to her younger brother’s alma mater, the University of Cambridge, included establishing the Sheepshanks Exhibition as a three-year scholarship for undergraduates. Her financial support of the Cambridge Observatory allowed for research stipend payments and instrument purchases.

The takeaways for Sheepshanks Crater, which honors British astronomical benefactor Anne Sheepshanks, are that the near side lunar impact crater parents three satellites along northern Mare Frigoris in the northeastern quadrant; that the Sheepshanks Crater system’s namesake numbered as the Royal Astronomical Society’s third female Honorary Member; and that the Royal Astronomical Society, the University of Cambridge and the Cambridge Observatory were the immediate recipients of Anne Sheepshanks’ benefactions.

Detail of Lunar Orbiter 4 photo shows sheepshanks crater system of primary Sheepshanks Crater; (above right of parent) satellite A (D4) and satellite B (CB 7.5); and (below right of parent) satellite C (D 7.5); D.E. Bowker and J.K. Hughes, Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon (1971), plate 32, Photo No. IV-104-H1: 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:

Detail of Lunar Astronautical Charts (LAC) 13 shows the Sheepshanks Crater system, occupants of northern Mare Frigoris in the lunar near side’s northeastern quadrant; 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/lac13_wac.pdf

Detail of Lunar Orbiter 4 photo shows Sheepshanks Crater system of primary Sheepshanks Crater (E5); (above right of parent) satellite A (D4) and satellite B (CB 7.5); and (below right of parent) satellite C (D 7.5); D.E. Bowker and J.K. Hughes, Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon (1971), plate 32, Photo No. IV-104-H1: Public Domain, via NASA NTRS (NASA Technical Reports Server) @ https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19730005152.pdf; via USRA (Universities Space Research Association) LPI (Lunar and Planetary Institute) @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunar_orbiter/bin/info.shtml?272

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