Wiener Crater Parents Four Satellites on Lunar Far Side

Summary: Wiener Crater parents four satellites on the lunar far side, north of the northwestern quadrant’s Mare Moscoviense.

Detail of Lunar Astronautical Charts (LAC) 31 shows Wiener Crater, with its four satellites (F, H, K, Q) and its craters’ nearest named neighbors, on the lunar far side; 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

Wiener Crater parents four satellites on the lunar far side, north of Mare Moscoviense (Sea of Muscovy) in the northwestern quadrant.

The primary crater is centered at 40.9 degrees north latitude, 146.51 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 42.77 degrees north and 39.03 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 148.99 degrees east and 144.04 degrees east, respectively. Wiener Crater has a diameter of 113.39 kilometers.

The Wiener Crater system comprises four satellites. Three satellites (F, K, Q) are in contact with their parent. Although Wiener H shares no borders with its parent, it adjoins Wiener K.

Wiener F occurs as the most easterly of the Wiener Crater system’s four satellites. The tilted crater resides on its parent’s eastern rim.

Wiener F is centered at 41.19 degrees north latitude, 149.97 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 41.96 degrees north and 40.43 degrees north, respectively. It obtains easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 150.82 degrees east and 149.11 degrees east, respectively. Wiener F's diameter measures 44.92 kilometers.

Wiener H lies to the south of Wiener F and to the east of its parent. H is the only one of the Wiener Crater system’s four satellites that does not make contact with its parent. Instead, Wiener H intrudes into Wiener K.

Wiener H is centered at 39.72 degrees north latitude, 149.88 degrees east longitude. H confines its northernmost and southernmost latitudes to 40.01 degrees north and 39.43 degrees north, respectively. It finds easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 150.26 degrees east and 149.5 degrees east, respectively. Wiener H’s diameter of 17.74 kilometers qualifies it as the smallest of the Wiener Crater system’s four satellites.

Wiener K’s placement along its parent’s south-southeastern rim qualifies it as the Wiener Crater system’s most southerly satellite. About half of K underlies its parent’s rim.

Wiener K is centered at 39.26 degrees north latitude, 147.96 degrees east longitude. The worn satellite marks northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 40.82 degrees north and 37.7 degrees north, respectively. It posts easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 149.97 degrees east and 145.94 degrees east, respectively. Wiener K’s diameter of 94.51 kilometers qualifies it as the largest of the Wiener Crater system’s four satellites.

Wiener Q snuggles along its parent’s southwestern rim. Its placement qualifies it as the most westerly of the Wiener Crater system’s four satellites.

Wiener Q is centered at 39.27 degrees north latitude, 144.97 degrees east longitude. It records northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 39.75 degrees north and 38.79 degrees north, respectively. Q registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 145.56 degrees east and 144.37 degrees east, respectively. Wiener Q has a diameter of 30.74 kilometers.

The middle-latitude Wiener Crater system resides near the northern edges of Mare Moscoviense (Sea of Muscovy). Mare Moscoviense numbers among “. . . the few maria found on the lunar far side,” according to the June 15, 2010, posting about Mare Moscoviense on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA)’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission webpages. “Although there are just as many impact basins on the lunar far side as the near, the extensive lunar volcanism seen on the near side is lacking on the far side of the Moon,” the post explains. (The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been orbiting the moon since June 23, 2009.)

Mare Moscoviense is centered at 27.28 degrees north latitude, 148.12 degrees east longitude. The dark, basaltic plain’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes stretch to 31.5 degrees north and 22.95 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at 153.26 degrees east and 143.41 degrees east, respectively. Mare Moscoviense’s length spans 275.57 kilometers.

The takeaways for Wiener Crater’s parentage of four satellites on the lunar far side are that three satellites (F, K, Q) make contact with their parent; that Wiener H, the smallest of the Wiener Crater system’s four satellites, only touches Wiener K; and that the Wiener Crater system lies near the northern edges of Mare Moscoviense (Sea of Muscovy), which numbers as one of only a few far side maria.

Detail of oblique, westward view, obtained in 1967 by Lunar 5 mission, shows Wiener F Crater; vertical rows in center are blemishes on original images; NASA IDs 5103 H2, 5103 H3: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons

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) 31 shows Wiener Crater, with its four satellites (F, H, K, Q) and its craters’ nearest named neighbors, on the lunar far side; 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_31_wac.pdf

Detail of oblique, westward view, obtained in 1967 by Lunar 5 mission, shows Wiener F Crater; vertical rows in center are blemishes on original images; NASA IDs 5103 H2, 5103 H3: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wiener_F_crater_5103_h2_h3.jpg

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