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:

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/765

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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

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Available via Harvard ADSABS @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1888SidM....7...65N

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Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/chi.60263570?urlappend=%3Bseq=263

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Available @ http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/brucemedalists/BruceMedalHistory.pdf