Summary: The lunar far side’s Pogson Crater honors British astronomer Norman Robert Pogson, Madras Observatory director and discoverer of eight asteroids.
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| Detail of Lunar Astronautical Chart (LAC) 117 shows Pogson Crater system, to the east of Mare Australe (Southern Sea), in the lunar far side’s southwestern 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 far side’s Pogson Crater honors British astronomer Norman Robert Pogson, who directed the British East India Company’s Madras Observatory for three decades and whose astronomical contributions include discovery of eight asteroids and formulation of Pogson’s ratio of stellar magnitude.
Circular Pogson Crater has a worn rim. A small craterlet perches on Pogson’s southern rim. A pair of craterlets occupy Pogson’s northeastern rim.
Pogson Crater is centered at minus 42.38 degrees south latitude, 111.11 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The southern hemisphere crater
records northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 41.7 degrees south and minus 43.05 degrees south, respectively. The eastern hemisphere crater registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 112.03 degrees east and 110.2 degrees east, respectively. Pogson Crater’s diameter spans 40.87 kilometers.
Pogson Crater is classified as a primary crater in the Pogson Crater system. The primary crater parents three satellites.
The three satellites are sited to the east of Pogson Crater. Pogson C’s northeastern position places makes it the closest to its parent. Next closest is southeastern-sited Pogson G. Pogson F, which is the most distant of the system’s satellites, lies directly east of its parent.
The Pogson Crater system lies to the east of Mare Australe (Southern Sea) in the lunar far side’s southwestern quadrant. The unevenly-surfaced, dark, basaltic plain extends over both the near side and the far side of Earth’s moon.
Mare Australe is centered at minus 47.77 degrees south latitude, 91.99 degrees east longitude. The lunar mare’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes stretch to minus 31.84 degrees south and minus 64.2 degrees south, respectively. It encounters easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 113.36 degrees east and 70.43 degrees east, respectively. Mare Australe’s length measures 996.84 kilometers.
Pogson Crater received official name approval in 1970 during the International Astronomical Union’s XIVth (14th) General Assembly, held Tuesday, Aug. 18, to Thursday, Aug. 27, in Brighton, United Kingdom. The IAU approved the designations for Pogson Crater system’s three satellites in 2006 during the organization’s XXVIth (26th) General Assembly, held Monday, Aug. 14, to Friday, Aug. 25, in Prague, Czech Republic.
Pogson Crater’s formal name honors Norman Robert Pogson (March 23, 1829-June 23, 1891). The 19th-century British astronomer served as director of the British East India Company’s Madras Observatory for three decades, from 1861 until his death. His accomplishments as an observational astronomy included discovering 13 variable stars and eight asteroids.
Pogson clinched his first asteroid find with his May 23, 1856, discovery of 42 Isis, from the Radcliffe Observatory in Oxford, Oxfordshire, South East England. His second and third asteroid discoveries, 43 Ariadne and 46 Hestia, were achieved from the Radcliffe Observatory in 1857, on April 15 and Aug. 16, respectively.
Pogson discovered his fourth asteroid, 67 Asia, on April 17, 1861. The bright asteroid numbered as his first asteroid discovery at southeastern India’s Madras Observatory.
Tamil Nadu state’s Madras Observatory also is credited as the observing site for his fifth through eighth asteroids. He claimed 80 Sappho as his fifth asteroid on May 2, 1864. He espied 87 Sylvia on May 16, 1866. He discovered his seventh asteroid, 107 Camilla, on Nov. 17, 1868, and his eighth, 245 Vera, on Feb. 6, 1885.
Pogson is also credited with formulating a mathematical scale of stellar magnitudes in which the ratio of two successive magnitudes equates to the fifth root of 100 (1001/5). Each magnitude is defined at 100 times the brightness of its predecessor. Pogson’s formula is known as Pogson’s ratio.
The takeaways for the lunar far side’s Pogson Crater, which honors 19th-century British astronomer Norman Robert Pogson, are that the worn, circular crater parents three satellites in the far side’s southwestern quadrant, to the east of Mare Australe (Southern Sea); that the crater system’s namesake was the Government astronomer of southeastern India’s Madras Observatory; and that Norman Pogson’s astronomical contributions include discovering eight asteroids and 13 variable stars and formulating Pogson’s ratio of stellar magnitude.
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| Detail of Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography Map shows Pogson Crater system in the lunar far side’s southeastern 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:
Image credits:
Detail of Lunar Astronautical Chart (LAC) 117 shows Pogson Crater system, to the east of Mare Australe (Southern Sea), in the lunar far side’s southeastern 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/lac_117_wac.pdf
Detail of Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography Map shows Pogson Crater system in the lunar far side’s southeastern quadrant: 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:
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Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/
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