Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer VIMS Shows Titanean Surface

Summary: Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer VIMS shows the Titanean surface during the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft’s study of the Saturnian system.

The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft’s Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, a two optical system with a Visible Channel (lower center) and an Infrared Channel (center), is attached to the Cassini orbiter’s cylindrical main body: courtesy National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), via NASA Cassini at Saturn mission pages

Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer VIMS shows the Titanean surface during studies of the Saturnian system by the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft.

The Titan IV 401B-33 rocket launched the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft Oct. 15, 1997, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), located at the northern end of Cape Canaveral, east central Florida. The Cassini orbiter and the Huygens probe comprise the robotic spacecraft’s two main elements.

The spacecraft’s mission of a multidisciplinary study of the Saturnian system represents a collaboration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana; ASI). Overall management of the Cassini-Huygens mission was assigned to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) was developed as a remote sensing instrument specifically for the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn, according to Edward Miller and 18 co-authors in their presentation in the Oct. 7, 1996, issue of Proceedings of SPIE (Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineeers). The Cassini VIMS instrument’s primary purpose entails the obtaining of two dimensional, high resolution multispectral images of Saturn, its rings and its satellites. The VIMS Science Team is based in Tucson, Arizona, at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL).

Titan numbers among the Cassini VIMS instrument’s data-gathering targets. VIMS’ Titanean data will facilitate the Cassini-Huygens mission’s scrutiny of the Titanean atmosphere. Also, “atmospheric windows in the infrared” will allow VIMS to show the Titanean surface, according to Robert H. Brown and 21 co-authors in their report on the spectrometer’s observational techniques, published in the November 2004 issue of Space Science Reviews. VIMS also allows mission scientists to search for surface signs of such volatile activities as volcanism.

Titan ranks as the largest moon in the Saturnian system. The yellowish orange-hued moon rates as the solar system’s second largest natural satellite, after Jovian moon Ganymede. Dutch Golden Age astronomer Christiaan Huygens (April 14, 1629-July 8, 1695) is credited with discovering Titan March 25, 1655, as Saturn’s first known moon.

The Cassini VIMS comprises two optical systems. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory designed and built the spectrometer’s Infrared Channel (VIMS-IR). Electro-optical systems producer Officine Galileo, based in Firenze (Florence), Italy, built the spectrometer’s Visible Channel (VIMS-V) for the Italian Space Agency. The spectrometer’s dual imaging design allows for the simultaneous collection of both infrared light, radiant energy that is invisible to humans, and visual light, light that is visible to humans.

Miller et al. explain that the two optical systems differ in their detector configurations. The IR Channel (VIMS IR) detects via its Focal Plane Assembly (FPA), a linear array of 256 rectangular indium antimonide (InSb) detectors that acquire data in the “whiskbroom” mode of one exposure’s view of one spatial pixel. The Visible Channel’s (VIMS-V; VIMS-VIS) Charge-Coupled Device (CCD), an area array square detector of 96 channels, obtains data in the “push-broom” mode of one exposure’s view of one row of pixels in a square scene.

The Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer is mounted on the spacecraft’s Remote Sensing Pallet (RSP). The pallet carries four of the spacecraft’s 12 scientific instruments. The spacecraft’s Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS), Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) and Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) are also found on the pallet. The Remote Sensing Pallet is attached about halfway up the Cassini orbiter’s nearly cylindrical main body.

The spacecraft’s first flyby of Saturn’s largest moon happened July 2, 2004. The Cassini-Huygens mission’s second flyby occurred Oct. 26, 2004, as the spacecraft’s first close to Titan’s surface.

The takeaways for the Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer’s showing of the Titanean surface are that the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft’s remote sensing spectrometer gathers data in infrared light, which is invisible to humans, and also in visible light, which is visible to humans; that VIMS’ Infrared (IR) Channel allows for surface data collection; that the spacecraft’s first Titanean flyby occurred July 2, 2004; and that the VIMS instrument obtained a surface photo of a possible volcano during the mission's next Titanean flyby, which took place Oct. 26, 2004, as the spacecraft's first close approach to the Titanean surface.

High-resolution infrared image, obtained by the Cassini orbiter’s Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) instrument during Cassini-Huygens spacecraft’s second Titanean flyby and first close approach to Titan on Oct. 26, 2004, shows bright, circular winged feature that might be a volcano on the Titanean surface; NASA ID PIA07962; image addition date 2005-06-08; image credit NASA / JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) / University of Arizona / LPL (Lunar Planetary Laboratory): May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft’s Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, a two optical system with a Visible Channel (lower center) and an Infrared Channel (center), is attached to the Cassini orbiter’s cylindrical main body: courtesy National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), via NASA Cassini at Saturn mission pages @ https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/cassini/the-journey/the-spacecraft/

High-resolution infrared image, obtained by the Cassini orbiter’s Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) instrument during Cassini-Huygens spacecraft’s second Titanean flyby and first close approach to Titan on Oct. 26, 2004, shows bright, circular winged feature that might be a volcano on the Titanean surface; NASA ID PIA07962; image addition date 2005-06-08; image credit NASA / JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) / University of Arizona / LPL (Lunar Planetary Laboratory): May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07962

For further information:

Brown, R.H.; K.H. Baines; G. Bellucci; J.-P. Bibring; B.J. Buratti; F. Capaccioni; P. Cerroni; R.N. Clark; A. Coradini; D.P. Cruikshank; P. Drossart; V. Formisano; R. Jaumann; Y. Langevin; D.L. Matson; T.B. McCord; V. Mennella; E. Miller; R.M. Nelson; P.D. Nicholson; B. Sicardy; and C. Sotin. “The Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) Investigation.” Space Science Reviews, vol. 115, issue 1-4 (November 2004): 111-168.
Available @ http://lasp.colorado.edu/~horanyi/graduate_seminar/Visual_IR_Mapping.pdf

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

Knopf, William. “VIMS Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer.” NASA PDS: The Planetary Data System > Data Search.
Available via NASA PDS (Planetary Data System) @ https://pds.nasa.gov/ds-view/pds/viewInstrumentProfile.jsp?INSTRUMENT_ID=VIMS&INSTRUMENT_HOST_ID=CO

Lavoie, Sue, site mgr. “PIA06112: Titan Close-Up.” NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Photojournal > Catalog > Saturn. Image addition date 2004-07-03.
Available @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06112

Lavoie, Sue, site mgr. “PIA07962: Infrared Image of Titan Volcano.” NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Photojournal > Catalog > Saturn. Image addition date 2005-06-08.
Available @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07962

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

Marriner, Derdriu. “Christiaan Huygens Discovered Saturnian Satellite Titan March 25, 1655.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, March 21, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/03/christiaan-huygens-discovered-saturnian.html

Miller, Edward; Gail Klein; David Juergens; Kenneth Mehaffey; Jeffrey Oseas; Ramon Garcia; Anthony Giandomenico; Bob Irigoyen; Roger Hickok; David Rosing; Harold Sobel; Carl Bruce; Enrico Flamini; Romeo DeVidi; Francis Reininger; Michele Dami; Alain Soufflot; Yves Langevin; and Gerard Huntzinger. “The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer for Cassini.” Proceedings of the SPIE: Cassini/Huygens: A Mission to the Saturnian Systems, vol. 2803 (Oct. 7, 1996): 206-220.
Available @ http://solarsystem.iaps.inaf.it/downloads/VIMS-paper.pdf

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

Nelson, Jon, site mgr. “Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer False-Color Image.” NASA JPL > Space Images. Aug. 1, 2011.
Available @ https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA14326

Russell, Christopher T. The Cassini-Huygens Mission: Orbiter Remote Sensing Investigations, vol. 3. Reprinted from Space Science Reviews, vol. 115, nos. 1-4 (2004). Dordrecht; Boston MA; London UK: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2004.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=-atCAAAAQBAJ

Shekhtman, Lonnie; and Jay Thompson. “Titan Flyby A (T-A): Oct. 26, 2004.” NASA Science Solar System Exploration > News. Oct. 25, 2004.
Available @ https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/12953/titan-flyby-a-t-a-oct-26-2004/

Shekhtman, Lonnie; and Jay Thompson. “Titan’s First Close-Up.” NASA Science Solar System Exploration > News. Dec. 17, 2004.
Available @ https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/12149/titans-first-close-up/

Shekhtman, Lonnie; and Jay Thompson. “Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS).” NASA Science Solar System Exploration > Missions > Cassini.
Available @ https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/cassini/mission/spacecraft/cassini-orbiter/visible-and-infrared-mapping-spectrometer/

Christiaan Huygens Discovered Saturnian Satellite Titan March 25, 1655

Summary: Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovered Saturnian satellite Titan March 25, 1655, with a telescope he designed with his brother Constantijn.

Dutch Golden Age astronomer Christiaan Huygens’ sketch of Saturn with his satellite discovery (A) and a fixed star (B), as viewed March 25, 1655, at 8 in the evening; C. Huygens, Systema Saturnium (1695), page 9: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive

Dutch Golden Age astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovered Saturnian satellite Titan March 25, 1655, with a telescope that he designed with his older brother, Constantijn.

In 1655, Christiaan Huygens (April 14, 1629-July 8, 1695) collaborated with his older brother, Dutch statesman and microscope and telescope maker Constantijn Huygens Jr., Lord of Zuilichem (March 10, 1628-Nov. 2, 1697), in designing and constructing a telescope. The telescope’s objective lens had a focal length of 10 Rhineland feet (Rheinländischer Fuß, equivalent to 12.36 inches), or approximately 337 centimeters, according to an April 2004 presentation at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, by Peter Louwman, Dutch amateur astronomer and owner of the Louwman Collection of Historic Telescopes in Wassenaar, western coastal Netherlands. The brothers equipped their creation with a single-lens eyepiece with a focal length of 3 Rhineland inches (79 millimeters), which yielded a magnification of about 43x (page 105).

Huygens described the new telescope as having a length of 12 Rhineland feet. Louwens explains that the practice at that time was to consider the telescope tube’s total length by including the eyepiece.

Christiaan is credited with inscribing, via a diamond, the focal length and the date of the lens’ final polishing, Feb. 3, 1655, along the rim of the objective lens as “X. 3 FEBR CIƆ IƆ CLV.” (Sometimes CIƆ was used to represent M, the Roman numeral for 1,000; IƆ, half of CIƆ, substituted sometimes for D, the Roman numeral for 500.)

Christiaan also inscribed “Admovere oculis distantia sidera mentis” (They brought the distant stars closer to our eyes) along the opposite rim. He extracted the phrase as a partial verse from lines 305 and 306 (Admovere oculis distantia sidera mentis aetheraque ingenio subposuere suo) of Fastorum Libri Sex (Six Books of the Calendar) by Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso (March 20, 43 BCE-ca. 17 or 18 CE), known as Ovid.

The Huygens brothers’ 1655 telescope no longer exists in its entirety, according to Peter Louwman. The only part that has survived is the objective lens, which Louwman describes as “. . . by far the most important part . . .” The lens is often referenced as the “Admovere” lens.

The central Netherlands’ Universiteits Museum (University Museum), which maintains the historical collections of Universiteit Utrecht (Utrecht University), usually safeguards the objective lens in a vault. The lens is presently on temporary display at Rijksmuseum Boerhaave in Leiden, western Netherlands, according to Louwman.

Only the Admovere lens surfaced in 1867 in a collection of old instruments at Universiteit Utrecht (Utrecht University), according to March 21, 2005, article by Universiteit Utrecht’s Rob H. van Gent and Universiteitsmuseum U. The central Netherlands’ Universiteits Museum (University Museum), which maintains the university’s historical collections, usually safeguards the objective lens in a vault. The lens is presently on temporary display at Rijksmuseum Boerhaave in Leiden, western Netherlands, according to Louwman.

On March 25, 1655, at about 8 p.m., Christiaan Huygens aimed the newly built telescope at the solar system’s sixth planet, Saturn. He discerned a Saturnian companion that his extensive subsequent observations revealed to be the first satellite discovered in the Saturnian system.

In a letter dated June 13, 1655, to English clergyman and mathematician John Wallis (Dec. 3, 1616-Nov. 8, 1703), Huygens cryptically announced that recently he had observed something striking with his new telescope that no one else had seen (Perſpicillum mihi nuper paravi ipſe 12 pedum longitudine, quo vix aliud praeſtantius reperiri exiſtimo quam, quum antehac nemo viderit, quod ego recens obſervavi.) Huygens described his discovery in a 53-letter anagram, by transposing letters into a phrase from Ovid and adding a string of 17 single letters (Scribitur autem tranſpoſitis literis in hunc modum. Admovere oculis distantia sidera nostris, VVVVVVVCCCRRHNBQX.).

On March 5, 1656, approximately 11 and one-third months (11 months nine days) after his discovery, Huygens announced his discovery of the first Saturnian satellite in a three-page tract entitled De Saturni Luna Observatio Nova (A New Observation of Saturn’s Moon). He noted that he had made the discovery with his 12-foot telescope (Nostrum, quo Saturni aſſeclam reperimus, quinquagies diametrum rei viſae multiplicat, duodenos pedes aequans). He stated that he would be presenting the Saturnian moon’s orbital period, based on his past and present observations, in a work on the entire Saturnian system (Obſervationes praeterito praeſentique anno collectas, quibus periodus ipſius demonſtratur, tunc una edituri ſumus cum integrum Saturni ſyſtema perfecerimus.).

Approximately 11 and one-half months after his discovery, in a letter dated March 15, 1656, to John Wallis, Huygens deciphered his anagram. He gave the correct sequence, which used all 53 letters, as: Saturno luna sua circunducitur diebus sexdecim horis quatuor (Its moon circles Saturn in 16 days and four hours).

In 1659, Huygens published Systema Saturnium (The System of Saturn). In this 84-page compendium, he revealed his name for his discovery as Saturni Luna (Saturn’s Moon).

Sir John Herschel (March 7, 1792-May 11, 1871), whose father, Uranus discoverer William Herschel (Nov. 15, 1738-Aug. 25, 1822), discovered Saturn’s sixth and seventh moons March 13, 1789, gave names from Greek mythology to the seven then-known Saturnian satellites. In Results of Astronomical Observations Made During the Years 1834, 5, 6, 7, 8, at the Cape of Good Hope, published in 1847, Sir John assigned Titan to “The bright satellite, discovered by Huyghens” (page 415).

The takeaways for Christiaan Huygens’ discovery of Saturnian satellite Titan on March 25, 1655, are that the Dutch Golden Age astronomer discovered the first satellite in the Saturnian system with a telescope that he and his older brother, Constantijn, had recently designed and built; that he named his discovery Saturni Luna (Saturn’s Moon); and that Sir John Herschel, whose father, Uranus discoverer William Herschel, discovered Saturn’s sixth and seventh moons in 1789, is credited with Saturni Luna’s official name, Titan.

Utrecht’s University Museum loaned the “Admovere” objective lens, the only remnant of the telescope with which Dutch Golden Age astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovered Titan March 25, 1655, as the first Saturnian satellite discovery, for display April 25 to Aug. 28, 2013, in an exhibition,“Constantijn and Christiaan Huygens -- A Golden Legacy,” in the Grote Kirk in The Hague: Universiteitsmuseum Utrecht @universiteitsmuseumutrecht, via Facebook April 24, 2013

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Dutch Golden Age astronomer Christiaan Huygens’ sketch of Saturn with his satellite discovery (A) and a fixed star (B), as viewed March 25, 1655, at 8 in the evening; C. Huygens, Systema Saturnium (1695), page 9: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/CristianiHugeni00Huyg/page/9;
Not in copyright, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/72050#page/253/mode/1up;
via Wikimedia Commons @ https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/The_System_of_Saturn_WDL4302.pdf/page27-2133px-The_System_of_Saturn_WDL4302.pdf.jpg

Utrecht’s University Museum loaned the “Admovere” objective lens, the only remnant of the telescope with which Dutch Golden Age astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovered Titan March 25, 1655, as the first Saturnian satellite discovery, for display April 25 to Aug. 28, 2013, in an exhibition,“Constantijn and Christiaan Huygens -- A Golden Legacy,” in the Grote Kirk in The Hague: Universiteitsmuseum Utrecht @universiteitsmuseumutrecht. via Facebook April 24, 2013, @ https://www.facebook.com/universiteitsmuseumutrecht/photos/a.240903229294605/541270965924495/

For further information:

ESA European Space Agency. “Titan -- From Discovery to Encounter.” European Space Agency Science and Technology > Conferences.
Available @ https://sci.esa.int/web/conferences/-/35018-titan-from-discovery-to-encounter-conference-presentations

Ferrari, Cécile. “Saturn’s Satellites and Rings: Huygens’ Heritage.” Pages 281-290. In: Karen Fletcher, ed. Proceedings of the International Conference “Titan -- From Discovery to Encounter,” 13-17 April 2004, ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands. ESA SP-1278. Noordwijk, Netherlands: ESA Publications Division, 2004.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2004ESASP1278..281F
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) PDF @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/2004ESASP1278..281F

Geballe, Thomas R.; Sang J. Kim; Keith S. Noll; and Regis Courtin. “Three Micron Spectroscopy of Titan’s Hydrocarbons, HCN, and Haze.” Pages 355-364. In: Karen Fletcher, ed. Proceedings of the International Conference “Titan -- From Discovery to Encounter,” 13-17 April 2004, ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands. ESA SP-1278. Noordwijk, Netherlands: ESA Publications Division, 2004.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2004ESASP1278..355G
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) PDF @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/2004ESASP1278..355G

The Hague Online. “Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands to Open The Huygens Exhibition in The Hague.” The Hague Online: News & Events for the International Community > Top Events. April 11, 2013. Available @ https://www.thehagueonline.com/top-events/2013/04/11/her-majesty-the-queen-of-the-netherlands-to-open-the-huygens-exhibition-in-the-hague

Herschel, John. “Chapter VI. Observations of the Satellites of Saturn.” Pages 414-430. Results of Astronomical Observations Made During the Years 1864, 5, 6, 7, 8 at the Cape of Good Hope: Being the Completion of a Telescopic Survey of the Whole Surface of the Visible Heavens Commence in 1825. London UK: Smith, Elder and Co., 1847.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/resultsofastrono00hers/page/414

Hitchens, W.J., trans. “Copy Letter, Christiaan Huygens to Unknown English Friend, Sent to Hartlib and Then to Miles Symner, English Translation of Latin Original.” University of Sheffield Digital Humanities Institute > The Hartlib Papers.
Available @ https://www.dhi.ac.uk/hartlib/view?docset=additional&docname=TCDLaa5T

Hom, Elaine J. “Roman Numerals: Conversion, Meaning & Origins.” Live Science > History. May 15, 2013.
Available @ https://www.livescience.com/32052-roman-numerals.html

Hugenii, Christiani. “De Saturni Luna Observatio Nova: Avertissement.” Oeuvres Complètes de Christiaan Huygens, tome quinzième Observations Astronomiques, Système de Saturne, Travaux Astronomiques 1658-1666: 165-170. La Haye [The Hague, the Netherlands]: Martinus Nijhoff, 1888.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/22151160

Huygenii, Cristiani. Systema Saturnium: Sive, De Causis Mirandorum Saturni Phaenomenôn, et Comite Ejus Planeta Novo. Hagae Comitis [The Hague, Netherlands]: Adriani Vlacq, M.DC.LIX (1659).
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/72050#page/223/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/CristianiHugeni00Huyg/
Available via Smithsonian Institution Libraries Digital Collections @ https://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/HST/Huygens/huygens.htm
Available via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_System_of_Saturn_WDL4302.pdf

Huygens, Christiaan. “No. 224. Christiaan Huygens à John Wallis [13 Juin 1655].” Oeuvres Complètes de Christiaan Huygens, tome premier Correspondance 1638-1656: 331-333. La Haye [The Hague, the Netherlands]: Martinus Nijhoff, 1888.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/18426236

Huygens, Christiaan. “No. 272. Christiaan Huygens à John Wallis [15 Mars 1656].” Oeuvres Complètes de Christiaan Huygens, tome premier Correspondance 1638-1656: 392. La Haye [The Hague, the Netherlands]: Martinus Nijhoff, 1888.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/18426297

Huygens, Christiaan. “Nouvelle Observation d’Une Lune de Saturne / Christiani Hugenii De Saturni Luna Observatio Nova.” Oeuvres Complètes de Christiaan Huygens, tome quinzième Observations Astronomiques, Système de Saturne, Travaux Astronomiques 1658-1666: 172-177. La Haye [The Hague, the Netherlands]: Martinus Nijhoff, 1888.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/22151167

Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen. “Huygens and the Improvement of the Telescope.” KNAW (Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen) DWC Digitaal Wetenschopshistorisch Centrum > Biography > Christiaan Huygensweb > Scientific Work.
Available @ https://www.dwc.knaw.nl/biografie/christiaan-huygensweb/instrumenten-en-uitvindingen/huygens-and-the-improvement-of-the-telescope/?lang=en

Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen. “Huygens and Titan, Saturn’s Moon.” KNAW (Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen) DWC Digitaal Wetenschopshistorisch Centrum > Biography > Christiaan Huygensweb > Scientific Work.
Available @ https://www.dwc.knaw.nl/biografie/christiaan-huygensweb/wetenschappelijk-werk/huygens-and-titan-saturns-moon/?lang=en

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

Louwman, Peter. “Christiaan Huygens and His Telescopes.” Pages 103-114. In: Karen Fletcher, ed. Proceedings of the International Conference “Titan -- From Discovery to Encounter,” 13-17 April 2004, ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands. ESA SP-1278. Noordwijk, Netherlands: ESA Publications Division, 2004.
Available @ https://www.esa.int/esapub/sp/sp1278/sp1278p1.pdf
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2004ESASP1278..103L
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) PDF @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/2004ESASP1278..103L

Marriner, Derdriu. “Huygens A Is Only Lettered Crater Associated With Lunar Mons Huygens.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, April 6, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/04/huygens-is-only-lettered-crater.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Lunar Mountain Mons Huygens Honors Dutch Astronomer Christiaan Huygens.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, March 30, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/03/lunar-mountain-mons-huygens-honors.html

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

Nemiroff, Robert; and Jerry Bonnell. “Huygens Discovers Luna Saturni.” NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day). March 25, 2005.
Available @ https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050325.html

Universiteitsmuseum Utrecht @universiteitsmuseumutrecht. “Dit is niet zomaar een stukje glas uit onze collectie. Voor zover bekend is dit de eerste lens die Christiaan Huygens sleep. In 1655 ontdekte hij hiermee de maan Titan van Saturnus. Voor deze ontdekking spraken sterrenkundigen van 'de geheimzinnige planeet met oren'. In de lens staat gegegraveerd: 'Admovere oculis distantia sidera nostris'. Weet jij wat dit betekent? Vanaf vandaag te bewonderen in de Huygenstentoonstelling in Den Haag. http://bit.ly/12b4YJZ.” Facebook. April 24, 2013. Available @ https://www.facebook.com/universiteitsmuseumutrecht/photos/a.240903229294605/541270965924495/

van Gent, Rob H.; and Tiemen Cocquyt. “350 Jaar Huygenslens.” NEMO Kennislink > Publicaties. March 21, 2005. Available @ https://www.nemokennislink.nl/publicaties/350-jaar-huygenslens/

van Helden, Albert. “Huygens, Titan, and Saturn’s Ring.” Pages 11-29. In: Karen Fletcher, ed. Proceedings of the International Conference “Titan -- From Discovery to Encouter,” 13-17 April 2004, ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands. ESA SP-1278. Noordwijk, Netherlands: ESA Publications Division, 2004.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2004ESASP1278...11V
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) PDF @ http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/2004ESASP1278...11V

Verduin, C.J. (Kees). “Portraits of Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695).” Universiteit Leiden > Kees Verduin > A Short History of Probability and Statistics > Christiaan Huygens. Last modified March 2009.
Available @ https://www.leidenuniv.nl/fsw/verduin/stathist/huygens/acad1666/huygpor/

Walden, John H., Dr. “Huygens Saturn’s Ring.” Pages 63-69. In: Harlow Shapley and Helen E. Howarth, eds., A Source Book in Astronomy. Sources Books in the History of the Sciences. First edition. Second impression. New York NY; London UK: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1929.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009506271
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.177246/page/n77

Yoder, Joella. “The Huygens Manuscript.” Pages 43-54. In: Karen Fletcher, ed. Proceedings of the International Conference “Titan -- From Discovery to Encounter,” 13-17 April 2004, ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands. ESA SP-1278. Noordwijk, Netherlands: ESA Publications Division, 2004.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2004ESASP1278...43Y
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) PDF @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/2004ESASP1278...43Y

Bragg Crater Honors British Physicist Sir William Henry Bragg

Summary: The lunar far side’s Bragg Crater honors British physicist Sir William Henry Bragg, uniquely awarded the 1915 Nobel Physics Prize with his younger son.

Detail of Lunar Astronautical Charts (LAC) 36 shows the lunar far side’s Bragg Crater system of parental Bragg (center), Bragg H (center right), Bragg M (lower right) and Bragg P (lower center); 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 far side’s Bragg Crater honors British physicist Sir William Henry Bragg, whose sharing of the 1915 Noble Prize in Physics with his younger son, William, uniquely represents the first and only father-son Nobel laureates.

Bragg Crater occupies the lunar far side’s northeastern quadrant. The ancient lunar impact crater lies just beyond the near side’s northwestern limb.

Bragg Crater’s western rim is more intact than its eastern rim. Craterlets riddle Bragg’s northern and eastern rim. A craterlet almost approximates the interior floor’s midpoint.

Bragg Crater is centered at 42.33 degrees north latitude, minus 103.44 degrees west longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The primary crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes reach 43.6 degrees north and 41.05 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend to minus 101.72 degrees west and minus 105.16 degrees west, respectively. Bragg Crater’s diameter measures 77.21 kilometers.

Bragg Crater parents three satellites in its environs. Bragg H snuggles on its parent’s east-southeastern rim. Satellites M and P lie, respectively, to the south and southwest of their parent.

Satellite H claims the closest position to its parent. Its position on parental Bragg’s east-southeastern rim also qualifies it as the most northerly and the most easterly of the Bragg Crater system’s three satellites.

Bragg H is centered at 41.47 degrees north latitude, minus 101.35 degrees west longitude. The satellite posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 42.07 degrees north and 40.86 degrees north, respectively. H marks easternmost and westernmost longitudes at minus 100.54 degrees west and minus 102.16 degrees west, respectively.

Bragg H’s diameter of 36.61 kilometers qualifies it as the second largest of the Bragg Crater system’s three satellites. The satellite’s diameter edges, at almost 47.5 percent, toward half of its parent’s diameter of 77.21 kilometers.

Satellite M’s location to the south-southeast of its parent qualifies it as the most distant of the Bragg Crater system’s three satellites. M also claims the Bragg Crater system’s most southerly position.

Bragg M is centered at 38.87 degrees north latitude, minus 102.77 degrees west longitude. The satellite obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 39.6 degrees north and 38.14 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at minus 101.83 degrees west and minus 103.7 degrees west, respectively.

Bragg M’s diameter of 44.32 kilometers qualifies it as the largest of the Bragg Crater system’s three satellites. M’s diameter equates to almost 57.5 percent of its parent’s 77.21-kilometer diameter.

Satellite P lies to the northwest of Bragg M. P’s location qualifies it as the most westerly of the Bragg Crater system’s three satellites.

Bragg P is centered at 39.75 degrees north latitude, minus 104.76 degrees west longitude. The satellite registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 40.23 degrees north and 39.27 degrees north, respectively. It records easternmost and westernmost longitudes of minus 104.14 degrees west and minus 105.38 degrees west, respectively.

Bragg P’s diameter of 28.95 kilometers qualifies it as the smallest of the Bragg Crater system’s three satellites. P’s diameter equates to 37.5 percent of its parent’s 77.21-kilometer diameter.

Bragg Crater honors British physicist Sir William Henry Bragg (July 2, 1862-March 12, 1942). The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved Bragg as the crater’s official name in 1970, during the organization’s XIVth (14th) General Assembly, held from Aug. 18, to Aug. 27, in Brighton, United Kingdom. Prior to its formal naming, Bragg Crater was designated as Crater 102. Approval of the letter designations for the Bragg Crater system’s three satellites was granted in 2006.

On June 1, 1889, William Henry Bragg married Gwendoline Todd (July 22, 1869-), the watercolorist daughter of Sir Charles Todd (July 7, 1826-Jan. 29, 1910), British-born Australian astronomer, meteorologist and electrical engineer. The couple had three children: William Lawrence Bragg (March 31, 1890-July 1, 1971), Robert Charles Bragg (Nov. 25, 1892-Sept. 2, 1915) and Gwendolen Mary Bragg Caroe (Feb. 26, 1907-Jan. 9, 1982).

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1915 jointly to William Henry Bragg and his older son, William Lawrence Bragg. The Nobel Prize website notes that the father-son science team founded x-ray analysis of crystal structure as “a new branch of science of the greatest importance and significance.” William Henry and William Lawrence uniquely qualify as the only Nobel laureate father-son to share the same prize.

The Royal Swedish Academy’s Nov. 12, 1915, telegram informing the father-son Braggs of their award occurred approximately two and one-half months after the tragic news of the death of Robert Charles Bragg. The younger Bragg son died from wounds sustained in the First World War (July 28, 1914-Nov. 11, 1918) during the Gallipoli Campaign’s (Feb. 17, 1915-Jan. 9, 1916) Landing at Suvla Bay (Aug. 6-Aug. 15, 1915), southern European Turkey (East Thrace).

Sir William Henry’s knightship occurred in 1920. Sir William Lawrence’s knightship was conferred in 1941.

The takeaways for Bragg Crater, which honors British physicist Sir William Henry Bragg, are that craterlet-riddled impact crater occupies the lunar far side’s northeastern quadrant; that the Bragg Crater system comprises a primary crater and three satellites; that the Bragg Crater system’s namesake was awarded the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with his older son, Sir William Lawrence; and that the Braggs remain the only father-son Nobel laureates.

Detail of Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography Map shows lunar far side’s Bragg Crater (center left) as lunar far side northeastern quadrant crater, located west of near side Oceanus Procellarum’s (Ocean of Storms) libration visibility along limb: 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 Charts (LAC) 36 shows the lunar far side’s Bragg Crater system of parental Bragg (center), Bragg H (center right), Bragg M (lower right) and Bragg P (lower center); 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/lac36_wac.pdf

Detail of Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography Map shows lunar far side’s Bragg Crater (center left) as lunar far side northeastern quadrant crater, located west of near side Oceanus Procellarum’s (Ocean of Storms) libration visibility along limb: U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/moon_farside.pdf

For further information:

Bragg, W.H. (William Henry); and W.L. (William Lawrence) Bragg. “The Reflection of X-Rays by Crystals. (Received April 7, -- Read April 17, 1913.).” Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, vol. 88, issue 605 (April 7, 1913): 428-438.
Available via The Royal Society Publishing @ https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rspa.1913.0040

Commonwealth War Graves Commission. “Second Lieutenant Bragg, Robert Charles.” CWGC Commonwealth War Graves Commission > Find War Dead & Cemeteries.
Available @ https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/680754/Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

de Jager, C.; and A. (Arnost) Jappel, eds. XIVth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. XIV B Proceedings of the 14th General Assembly Brighton, United Kingdom, August 18-27, 1970. Washington DC: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Jan. 1, 1971.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

E.D. / Royal Astronomical Society Council. “Obituary.” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. XXXVII, no. 4 (Feb. 9, 1877): 143-145.

Glazer, A.M. (Anthony Michael); and Patience Thomson, eds. Crystal Clear: The Autobiographies of Sir Lawrence and Lady Bragg. First edition. New York NY: Oxford University Press, 2015.

Grego, Peter. The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. London UK: Springer-Verlag, 2005.

Hunter, Graeme K. Light Is a Messenger: The Life and Science of William Lawrence Bragg. New York NY: Oxford University Press, 2004.

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Bragg.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/857

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Bragg H.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/8907

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Bragg M.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/8907

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Bragg P.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/8907

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

Jenkin, John. William and Lawrence Bragg, Father and Son: The Most Extraordinary Collaboration in Science. New York NY: Oxford University Press, 2008.

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

Liljas, Anders. “Background to the Nobel Prize to the Braggs.” Acta Crystallographica Section A, vol. 69, part 1 (January 2013): 10-15.
Available @ https://journals.iucr.org/a/issues/2013/01/00/wl5166/

Marriner, Derdriu. “Harkhebi Crater Honors Early Ptolemaic Astronomer Prince Harkhebi.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/01/harkhebi-crater-honors-early-ptolemaic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Harkhebi Crater Parents Six Satellites on Lunar Far Side.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/01/harkhebi-crater-parents-six-satellites.html

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

Marriner, Derdriu. “Sheepshanks Crater Honors British Astronomical Benefactor Anne Sheepshanks.” Earth and Space News. Feb. 1, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/02/sheepshanks-crater-honors-british.html

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

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

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

National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and Department of Defense Aeronautical Chart and Information Center. Lunar Farside Chart LFC-1. Second edition. October 1967.
Available @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/LunarFarsideCharts/LFC-1%201stEd/LFC-1%202ndEd/LFC-1A/

The Nobel Prize. “William Bragg Biographical.” The Nobel Prizes & Laureates > Physics Prize.
Available @ https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1915/wh-bragg/biographical/

Norrby, Erling. Nobel Prizes and Nature’s Surprises. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., 2013.

Tomlin, S.G. (Stanley Grenfell). “Bragg, Sir William Henry (1862-1942).” Australian National University National Centre of Biography > Australian Dictionary of Biography.
Available @ http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bragg-sir-william-henry-5336

Virtual War Memorial Australia. “Bragg, Robert Charles.” Virtual War Memorial Australia > Explore > People.
Available @ https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/795482

Bruce Crater Honors American Astronomy Patron Catherine Wolfe Bruce

Summary: Bruce Crater honors American astronomy patron Catherine Wolfe Bruce, who established the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s Bruce Medal in 1897.

Oblique view of Sinus Medii, obtained in 1972 by Apollo 16, shows Bruce Crater (upper center), with (to its right) nearest named neighbor Blagg Crater; NASA ID AS16-M-0842: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The lunar near side’s Bruce Crater honors American astronomy patron Catherine Wolfe Bruce, whose benefactions to astronomy included establishing, in 1897, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s (ASP) Bruce Medal for recognition of outstanding lifetime contributions.

Bruce Crater is a small lunar impact crater in the lunar near side’s northeastern quadrant. The circular feature is cup-shaped.

Bruce is centered at 1.16 degrees north latitude, 0.37 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 1.27 degrees north and 1.06 degrees north, respectively. It obtains easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 0.48 degrees east and 0.27 degrees east, respectively. Bruce Crater has a diameter of 6.14 kilometers.

Bruce Crater is sited toward the center of Sinus Medii (Bay of the Center). Sinus Medii’s name reflects its location at 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude, the intersection of the lunar equator and the lunar prime meridian.

Sinus Medii is centered at 1.63 degrees north latitude, 1.03 degrees east longitude. The small lunar mare records northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 4.64 degrees north and minus 2.05 degrees south, respectively. It registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 5.55 degrees east and minus 3.37 degrees west, respectively. Sinus Medii’s diameter spans 286.67 kilometers.

Blagg Crater occurs as Bruce Crater’s nearest named neighbor in Sinus Medii. Blagg is centered at 1.22 degrees north latitude, 1.46 degrees east longitude. It posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 1.3 degrees north and 1.14 degrees north, respectively. It marks easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 1.55 degrees east and 1.46 degrees east, respectively. Blagg Crater has a diameter of 4.97 kilometers.

Bruce Crater honors American astronomy patron Catherine Wolfe Bruce (Jan. 22, 1816-March 13, 1900). The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved Bruce as the small crater’s official name in 1935, during the organization’s Vth (5th) General Assembly, held in Cambridge, United Kingdom, from Wednesday, July 10, to Wednesday, July 17.

Catherine Wolfe Bruce was the oldest of five children born to wealthy Scottish immigrant George Bruce (July 5, 1781-July 6, 1866) and his wife, Catherine (June 21, 1785-March 18, 1861). Her privileged upbringing allowed her to pursue interests in art, literature and travel.

At the age of 72, Catherine revealed an interest in benefiting astronomy, according to astronomy historian Joseph S. Tenn’s “A Brief History of the Bruce Medal of the A.S.P.,” published in the July-August 1986 issue of Mercury, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s journal. Two contrasting publications fueled Catherine’s new interest. Canadian-American Simon Newcomb (March 12, 1835-July 11, 1909), head of the U.S. Naval Observatory’s Almanac Office from 1877-1897, expressed the expectation of “. . . fast reaching the limits of our knowledge” (pages 69-70) in an article, “The Place of Astronomy Among the Sciences,” published in The Sidereal Messenger’s February 1888 issue. A circular by fourth Harvard College Observatory Director (1877-1919) Edward Charles Pickering (July 19, 1846-Feb. 3, 1919) sought a donation of $50,000 for a specially designed telescope in order to conduct a photographic survey of the entire sky.

Catherine’s astronomy benefactions totaled $174,275, according to the complete list compiled by American astronomer William Wallace Payne’s (March 19, 1837-Jan. 29, 1928) and published in the May 1900 issue of Popular Astronomy (pages 237-238). She committed $25,000 to Harvard College on June 19, 1889, as her first benefaction.

In 1897, Edward Singleton Holden (Nov. 5, 1846-March 16, 1914), founding president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), sought $2,750 from Catherine for the establishment of a gold medal award under the ASP’s auspices. On Sept. 2, 1897, a donation of $2,750 to F.R. Ziel, as Secretary and Treasurer of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Endowment Bruce Medal, appeared on Catherine’s list of benefactions.

The first Catherine Wolfe Bruce Medal was awarded in 1898. Simon Newcomb, whose 1888 article had distressed Catherine, was the medal’s first recipient. Between 1898 and 2011 there have been 104 Bruce medalists.

The takeaways for Bruce Crater, which honors American astronomy patron Catherine Wolfe Bruce, are that the small crater lies near the center of Sinus Medii (Bay of the Center) in the lunar near side’s northeastern quadrant; that the crater’s namesake donated $174,275 between 1889 and 1899 for the advancement of astronomy; and that the medal that she established as an award for outstanding, lifetime excellence in astronomy and that bears her name has recognized, between 1898 and 2011, 104 individuals.

Detail of Lunar Astronautical Chart (LAC) 59 shows Bruce Crater and nearest named neighbor Blagg Crater in Sinus Medii 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

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Oblique view of Sinus Medii, obtained in 1972 by Apollo 16, shows Bruce Crater (upper center), with (to its right) nearest named neighbor Blagg Crater; NASA ID AS16-M-0842: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sinus_Medii_AS16-M-0842.jpg

Detail of Lunar Astronautical Chart (LAC) 59 shows Bruce Crater and nearest named neighbor Blagg Crater in Sinus Medii 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/lac59_wac.pdf

For further information:

Andersson, Leif E.; and Ewen A. Whitaker. NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA Reference Publication 1097. Washington DC: NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scientific and Technical Information Branch, October 1982.
Available via NASA NTRS (NASA Technical Reports Server) @ https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19830003761.pdf

Campbell, W.W. (William Wallace) “Simon Newcomb.” National Academy of Sciences, vol. XVII First Memoir.
Available @ http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/newcomb-simon.pdf

Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Grego, Peter. The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. London UK: Springer-Verlag, 2005.

Hughes, Stefan. “IV.3.5 ‘Bruce’ Double Astrograph.” Catchers of the Light: The Forgotten Lives of the Men and Women Who First Photographed the Heavens. Vol. 1 -- Catching Space: 403-404. Vol. 2 -- Imaging Space. Paphos, Cyprus: ArtDeCiel Publishing, 2012.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=iZk5OOf7fVYC&pg=PA403

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Blagg.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/765

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Bruce.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/897

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Sinus Medii.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5567

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

Lunar and Planetary Institute. “Landing Site Overview.” Lunar and Planetary Institute > Lunar Science and Exploration Portal > Exploration > Lunar Mission Studies > Lunar Exploration Timeline: 1969: Apollo 11.
Available @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/landing_site/

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

Marriner, Derdriu. “Sheepshanks Crater Honors British Astronomical Benefactor Anne Sheepshanks.” Earth and Space News. Feb. 1, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/02/sheepshanks-crater-honors-british.html

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

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

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

Newcomb, Simon, Professor. “The Place of Astronomy Among the Sciences.” The Sidereal Messenger, vol. 7, no. 2, whole no. 62 (February 1888): 65-73.
Available via Harvard ADSABS @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1888SidM....7...65N
Available via Harvard ADSABS @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1888SidM....7...65N

Payne, W. W. (William Wallace). “The Late Catherine Wolfe Bruce.” Popular Astronomy, vol. VIII, no. 5, whole no. 75 (May 1900): 235-238. Northfield MN: Goodsell Observatory of Carleton College, 1900.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/chi.60263570?urlappend=%3Bseq=263

Stratton, F.J.M. (Frederick John Marrian), ed. Vth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. V B Proceedings of the 5th General Assembly Paris France, July 10-17, 1935. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press, Jan. 1, 1936.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

Tenn, Joseph S. “A Brief History of the Bruce Medal of the A.S.P.” Mercury: The Journal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, vol. XV, no. 4 (July-August 1986): 103-111, 125.
Available @ http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/brucemedalists/BruceMedalHistory.pdf