Carrington Crater Honors British Astronomer Richard Carrington

Summary: Carrington Crater honors British astronomer Richard Carrington, whose observations included solar flares and solar differential rotation.

Detail of Lunar Astronautical Chart (LAC) 28 shows Carrington Crater as a near side crater, with Lacus Spei and Lacus Temporis as nearest eastern and western maria and with two Mercurius satellites (F, G) and Schumacher as nearest named craters, to the northeast and southwest, respectively; 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

Carrington Crater honors British astronomer Richard Carrington, whose astronomical observations included studying solar flares and solar differential rotation.

Carrington is a lunar impact crater in the near side’s northeastern quadrant. A slight protrusion at the crater’s northern end accounts for the feature’s teardrop shape. Carrington exhibits a nearly level interior floor.

Carrington is centered at 43.97 degrees north latitude, 62.04 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 44.43 degrees north and 43.51 degrees north, respectively. It registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 62.67 degrees east and 61.4 degrees east, respectively. Carrington has a diameter of 27.77 kilometers.

Carrington occurs as a middle- to polar-latitude crater between two small lunar maria. Lacus Spei (Lake of Hope) lies to the east of Carrington. Lacus Temporis (Lake of Time) is located to the northwest of Carrington.

Irregularly shaped Lacus Spei is centered at 43.46 degrees north latitude, 65.2 degrees east longitude. The dark lunar mare’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes stretch from 44.56 degrees north and 42.51 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 66.94 degrees east and 63.69 degrees east, respectively. Lacus Spei’s diameter measures 76.67 kilometers.

Relatively smooth Lacus Temporis comprises two fairly circular patches. Two prominent, small, cup-shaped craters mark the intersection of the lunar mare’s two lobes.

Lacus Temporis is centered at 46.77 degrees north latitude, 56.21 degrees east longitude. The lobate mare posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 49.36 degrees north and 43.81 degrees north, respectively. It marks easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 60.56 degrees east and 52.13 degrees east, respectively. Lacus Temporis has a diameter of 205.3 kilometers.

Three named craters conspicuously frame Carrington. Schumacher lies to the southwest of Carrington. Mercurius F and Mercurius G are sited to the northeast of Carrington.

Mercurius F and Mercurius G number among 12 satellites in the Mercurius Crater system. Mercurius G resides to the east of Mercurius F.

Mercurius F is centered at 45.19 degrees north latitude, 62.85 degrees east longitude. Satellite F obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 45.42 degrees north and 44.97 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at 63.17 degrees east and 62.53 degrees east, respectively. Mercurius F has a diameter of 13.8 kilometers.

Mercurius G is centered at 45.11 degrees north latitude, 64.22 degrees east longitude. Satellite G finds northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 45.34 degrees north and 44.88 degrees north, respectively. Easternmost and westernmost longitudes are obtained at 64.54 degrees east and 63.89 degrees east, respectively. Mercurius G’s diameter measures 13.91 kilometers.

Carrington Crater honors British astronomer Richard Christopher Carrington (May 26, 1826-Nov. 27, 1875). The International Astronomical Union approved Carrington as the crater’s official name in 1935, during the organization’s Vth (5th) General Assembly, which was held in Paris, France, from Wednesday, July 10, to Wednesday, July 17.

Richard Christopher Carrington’s first astronomical post, which he held from October 1849 to March 1852, was as observer in the University of Durham in North East England. On March 14, 1851, during his tenure at Durham, the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) admitted him as a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS).

He resigned from Durham in order to search for an appropriate site for his own observatory and home. In early June 1852 he settled on Furze Hill in Redhill, Surrey, South East England. In 1857, he published A Catalogue of 3,735 Circumpolar Stars Observed at Redhill in the Years 1854, 1855, and 1856, and Reduced to Mean Positions for 1855. The Royal Astronomical Society recognized the publication with its Gold Medal, which was presented to Carrington on Feb. 11, 1859.

The Royal Society’s webpage notes Carrington’s election as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) on June 7, 1860. His Royal Society record cites Carrington’s Catalogue of 3735 Circumpolar Stars, his founding of the Observatory at Redhill, his “acquaintance with the science of Astronomy, and his zeal in promoting its objects” as his astronomical contributions.

Carrington balanced observations of the nighttime sky with daytime studies of the sun. On Sep. 1, 1859, first observations of a solar flare were made independently by Carrington at Redhill and by English publisher and amateur astronomer Richard Hodgson (1804-May 4, 1872). Carrington based his formulation of solar rotation, known as the Carrington rotation, upon sunspot observations that he conducted from 1854 through 1857. In 1863, he published Observations of the Spots on the Sun From November 9, 1853, to March 24, 1861.

The takeaways for Carrington Crater, which honors British astronomer Richard Carrington, are that the near side crater lies between Lacus Spei and Lacus Temporis in the northeastern quadrant; that the crater’s namesake received the Royal Astronomical Society’s Gold Medal in 1859 for his catalog of circumpolar star observations made from his personal observatory in Redhill, Surrey, South East England; that he determined solar rotation from his observations of sunspots; and that the first observation of a solar flare is credited to independent viewings on Sep. 1, 1859, to Richard Carrington and Richard Hodgson.

Detail of Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography Map shows Carrington Crater in the lunar near side’s northeastern quadrant: 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) 28 shows Carrington Crater as a near side crater, with Lacus Spei and Lacus Temporis as nearest eastern and western maria and with two Mercurius satellites (F, G) and Schumacher as nearest named craters, to the northeast and southwest, respectively; 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/lac28_wac.pdf

Detail of Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography Map shows Carrington Crater in the lunar near side’s northeastern quadrant: 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:

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Available via Oxford Academic @ https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/15/8/213/2603162

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Available via HathiTrust @ https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001475298

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