Summary: Einstein Crater parents three satellites on the near side’s western limb as a northwest quadrant occupant lying west of western Oceanus Procellarum.
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| Detail of Lunar Astronautical Charts (LAC) 37 shows Einstein Crater with interior satellite, Einstein A (lower left corner); 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 |
Einstein Crater parents three satellites on the near side’s western limb, in the northwestern quadrant terrain lying west of western Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms).
The north equatorial latitude crater is centered at 16.6 degrees north latitude, minus 88.65 degrees west longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 19.6 degrees north and 13.61 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach minus 85.54 west and minus 91.77 degrees west, respectively. Einstein Crater’s diameter measures 181.47 kilometers.
Einstein Crater parents three satellites in its location between the lunar near side’s sprawling Oceanus Procellarum and its western limb. The Einstein Crater system comprises one interior satellite and two western
satellites.
Einstein A occupies the center of its parent’s interior floor. The young satellite displays a central peak and terraced walls.
Einstein A is centered at 16.69 degrees north latitude, minus 88.25 degrees west longitude. The Einstein Crater system’s central satellite records northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 17.52 degrees north and 15.86 degrees north, respectively. It registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes of minus 87.38 degrees west and minus 89.12 degrees west, respectively. Einstein A’s diameter measures 50.48 kilometers.
Einstein A’s diameter qualifies it as the largest of the Einstein Crater system’s three satellites. A’s diameter of 50.48 kilometers approximates 28 percent of its parent’s 181.47-kilometer diameter.
Einstein R and Einstein S occur as the Einstein Crater system’s two western satellites. They lie to the southwest of Einstein A.
Einstein R resides to the south-southwest of Einstein S. Einstein R’s placement qualifies it as the most southerly and most westerly of the Einstein Crater system’s three satellites.
Einstein R is centered at 13.83 degrees north latitude, minus 91.88 degrees west longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 14.15 degrees north and 13.5 degrees north, respectively. It obtains easternmost and westernmost longitudes at minus 91.54 degrees west and minus 92.21 degrees west, respectively. Einstein R has a diameter of 19.84 kilometers.
Einstein S is centered at 15.1 degrees north latitude, minus 91.67 degrees west longitude. It finds northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 15.42 degrees north and 14.78 degrees north, respectively. It marks easternmost and westernmost longitudes at minus 91.33 degrees west and minus 92 degrees west, respectively. Einstein S has a diameter of 19.63 kilometers.
Einstein S’s diameter measures 0.21 kilometers less than Einstein R’s 19.84-kilometer diameter. Einstein S qualifies as the smallest of the Einstein Crater system’s three satellites and, indeed, as the Einstein Crater system’s smallest participant.
The diameters of Einstein R and of Einstein S approximate 39.3 percent and 39 percent, respectively, of Einstein A’s diameter of 50.48 kilometers. Einstein R’s and Einstein S’s diameters approximate 10.93 percent and 10.82 percent, respectively, of their parent crater’s 181.47-kilometer diameter.
As western limb occupants, the Einstein Crater system depends upon favorable libration for visibility, albeit rather undetailed, by Earth-based observers. Libration references the changing amount of surface visibility for
Earth-based observers. Libration expands surface visibility to about 59 percent for Earth-based observers.
Latitudinal libration, longitudinal libration and diurnal libration comprise the three mechanisms occasioning changes in perspective for Earth-based observers. The changes in perspective allow for visibility of a small portion of the lunar far side.
The lunar axis of rotation tilts about 6.5 degrees with respect to an imaginary line that is perpendicular to the plane of the lunar orbit around Earth. This slight inclination affects latitudinal libration.
The moon traces an elliptical path in its orbit around Earth. The eccentricity, or deviation from a perfect circle, of the lunar orbit around Earth occasions longitudinal libration.
Small daily oscillations due to Earth’s rotation account for diurnal libration. These daily variations influence the viewpoint of Earth-based moon watchers.
The takeaways for Einstein Crater’s parentage of three satellites on the near side’s western limb are that the Einstein Crater system comprises one central satellite, Einstein A, which occupies the center of its parent’s
interior floor, and two western satellites, Einstein R and Einstein S; that the Einstein Crater system’s largest and smallest satellites are Einstein A and Einstein S, respectively; and that the Einstein Crater system’s location along the near side’s western limb links the system’s visibility to Earth-based observers to libration.
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| Detail of Lunar Astronautical Charts (LAC) 72 shows Einstein Crater with two western satellites, Einstein R and Einstein S; 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:
Image credits:
Detail of Lunar Astronautical Charts (LAC) 37 shows Einstein Crater with interior satellite, Einstein A (lower left corner); 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_37_wac.pdf
Detail of Lunar Astronautical Charts (LAC) 72 shows Einstein Crater with two western satellites, Einstein R and Einstein S; 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_72_wac.pdf
For further information:
For further information:
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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/8907
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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/8908
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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/8909
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