Arabella and Anita Spun First Space Webs in August 1973 at Skylab

Summary: Arabella and Anita spun the first space webs in August 1973 at Skylab, the first United States space station, during the Skylab 3 mission.

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s (MSFC) Dr. Raymond L. Gause, who serves as MSFC science adviser for Lexington, Massachusetts, high schooler Judith S. Miles’ web formation experiment, places a housefly as dinner in the web of common cross spider (Araneus diadematus) Arabella, the experiment’s prime spider; the end of Dr. Gause’s pen points to Arabella; NASA ID S73-32499 (July 1973); Date Created 1973-08-15; photo credit NASA: Generally not subject to copyright in the United States, via NASA Image and Video Library

Common cross spiders (Araneus diadematus) Arabella and Anita spun the first space webs in August 1973 at Skylab, the first United States space station, during the Skylab 3 mission’s experiment on web formation in zero g-force (gravitational force), known as weightlessness.

The Skylab 3 mission involved a large, multi-species crew. Arabella and Anita numbered among four animal species involved in biological experiments conducted during Skylab 3, NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) second manned mission to the only space station operated exclusively by the United States. In addition to the two common cross spiders, six pocket mice (Perognathus longimembris), 180 fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) pupae, two mummichog minnows (Fundular heteroclitus) and 50 minnow fish eggs crewed as participants in experiments testing effects of weightlessness on web formation, circadian rhythms and orientation.

The mission’s commander was fourth moonwalker Alan LaVern Bean (March 15, 1932-May 26, 2018). Owen Kay Garriott (born Nov. 22, 1930) and Jack Robert Lousma (born Feb. 29, 1936) experienced their first spaceflights on Skylab 3 in their respective capacities as scientist-pilot and mission pilot.

The Skylab 3 mission launched Saturday, July 28, 1973, at 11:10:50 Coordinated Universal Time (7:10 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time) from Launch Pad 39B, Cape Kennedy, along Florida’s east central coast. (Since Oct. 9, 1973, the cape has been known by its original name of Cape Canaveral, Spanish for Cabo Cañaveral, “cape of reed beds.”)  The mission’s Saturn IB (one B) launch vehicle carried a payload of an Apollo Command and Service Module (CSM) for insertion into low-Earth orbit (LEO). Low-Earth orbits occupy altitudes between 99 and 1,200 miles (160 to 2,000 kilometers) above Earth’s surface.

Apollo CSM 117 successfully transported the mission’s crew and paraphernalia to the mission’s rendezvous with Skylab. The module docked at the space station at 19:37:00 UTC (3:37 p.m. EDT), eight hours 26 minutes 10 seconds after launch.

A specially designed, screened cage served as a protected site for web construction. Prior to and after their respective sessions in the cage, the first two spiders in space were secluded in separate transportation vials.

Arabella occupied the cage for the first three-week session, which began Sunday, Aug. 5. Arabella’s forced entry into the cage, effected by Owen Garriott’s shaking the reluctant spider’s vial, attested to her dismay at weightlessness. The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center’s Skylab Student Project Report, released August 1974, assessed Arabella’s awkward realization of the unfamiliar environment: “Arabella bounced back and forth moving erratically in a swimming motion before she affixed herself to the screen covering on the cage surface.”

Arabella’s “rudimentary web,” discovered in the cage’s corners Monday, Aug. 6, qualified Arabella as the first spider to spin a web in space. Her first web was found to be complete on Tuesday, Aug. 7.

The experiment’s protocol expected one spider to complete three webs. Accordingly, half of her first web was removed Monday, Aug. 13. Arabella ingested the remaining half but refrained from commencing a second web until the scientist-pilot supplied her with water. Arabella’s second and third webs revealed her mastery of weightlessness, as she moved confidently and spun competently. Arabella’s third web, observed in the cage Wednesday, Aug. 22, “. . . was pronounced to be her best to date . . .,” according to the MSFC Skylab Student Project Report.

Owen Garriott received permission to expand the protocol to test Anita’s skill sets in weightlessness. Anita’s three-week session began Sunday, Aug. 26. As with Arabella, first encounters with weightlessness proved troublesome for Anita’s movements and web construction. The second spider to make spun-in-space webs, however, overcame the challenges of her new environment, learning to move and spin with ease.

Sadly, on Sunday, Sept. 16, Owen Garriott discovered Anita’s lifeless body in the cage. He retrieved her body and deposited Anita’s dehydrated remains in her transportation vial.

The Skylab 3 mission ended Tuesday, Sept. 25. Apollo CSM 117 undocked from Skylab at 11:16:42 UTC (7:16 a.m. EDT). The module’s Pacific Ocean splashdown happened at 22:19:51 UTC (6:19 p.m. EDT).

Arabella apparently survived the orbital flight part of the Skylab 3 mission. She was found dead in her transportation vial after its post-splashdown removal from Apollo CSM 117.

The takeaway for Arabella and Anita, who spun the first space webs in August 1973 at Skylab, is that the two common cross spiders (Araneus diadematus) displayed persistence and resilience in successfully adjusting to the unfamiliar conditions of weightlessness in their new habitat, Skylab's Orbital Workshop (OWS), in space.

Skylab 3 mission’s spider cage for Experiment ED52, Web Formation in Zero Gravity (top left); Apollo 9 (March 3-March 13, 1969) Lunar Module Pilot Russell “Rusty” Schweikart (lower left) was involved in the manned Skylab missions in various capacities; Rusty Schweikart and Dr. Raymond Gause, NASA MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center) science adviser for student investigator Judith L. Miles’ web formation experiment; NASA ID 0102080; Date Created 1973-01-01: Generally not subject to copyright in the United States, via NASA Image and Video Library

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s (MSFC) Dr. Raymond L. Gause, who serves as MSFC science adviser for Lexington, Massachusetts, high schooler Judith S. Miles’ web formation experiment, places a housefly as dinner in the web of common cross spider (Araneus diadematus) Arabella, the experiment’s prime spider; the end of Dr. Gause’s pen points to Arabella; NASA ID S73-32499 (July 1973); Date Created 1973-08-15; photo credit NASA: Generally not subject to copyright in the United States; may use this material for educational or informational purposes, including photo collections, textbooks, public exhibits, computer graphical simulations and Internet Web pages; general permission extends to personal Web pages, via NASA Image and Video Library @ https://images.nasa.gov/details-s73-32499

Skylab 3 mission’s spider cage for Experiment ED52, Web Formation in Zero Gravity (top left); Apollo 9 (March 3-March 13, 1969) Lunar Module Pilot Russell “Rusty” Schweikart (lower left) was involved in the manned Skylab missions in various capacities; Rusty Schweikart and Dr. Raymond Gause, NASA MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center) science adviser for student investigator Judith L. Miles’ web formation experiment; NASA ID 0102080; Date Created 1973-01-01: Generally not subject to copyright in the United States; may use this material for educational or informational purposes, including photo collections, textbooks, public exhibits, computer graphical simulations and Internet Web pages; general permission extends to personal Web pages, via NASA Image and Video Library @ https://images.nasa.gov/details-0102080

For further information:

Burgess, Colin; and Chris Dubbs. Animals in Space: From Research Rockets to the Space Shuttle. Springer-Praxis Books in Space Exploration. Chichester UK: Praxis Publishing Ltd., 2007.

Evans, Ben. “A Sick Crew and A Sick Ship: The Trials of Skylab 3 (Part 1).” AmericaSpace. July 27, 2013.
Available @ https://www.americaspace.com/2013/07/27/a-sick-crew-and-a-sick-ship-the-trials-of-skylab-3-part-1/

Gamache, Martin. “Niger (1999).” Arachnids on Stamps. Oct. 27, 2008.
Available @ http://arachnidstamps.blogspot.com/2012/02/niger-scorpions.html

NASA Content Administrator. “Judith’s Web -- Student Experiment Aboard Skylab 3.” NASA > NASA Missions A-Z > S > Skylab. March 23, 2008.
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NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. “C. Zoology. 1. ED52 -- Web Formation.” MSFC Skylab Student Project Report: 38-46. NASA Technical Memorandum TM X-64866. NASA Skylab Program Office. August 1974.
Available @ https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19740025164.pdf

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. “Web Formation – Skylab Student Experiment ED-52.” Jan. 1, 1973.
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NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Public Affairs Office. “Skylab Operations Summary.” NASA/Kennedy Space Center > Space Flight Archives > Skylab > Program Overview.
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Pearlman, Robert. “Space Spider Lands in Smithsonian Display.” collectSpace > News. Dec. 3, 2012.
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Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. “’Anita’ on Display in the McDonnell Space Hangar.” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum > Multimedia Gallery.
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Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. “Spider, ‘Arabella,’ Skylab 3.” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum > Collections.
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Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. “Spider Cage, Experiment ED52, Skylab 3.” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum > Collections > Objects on Display.”
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Summerlin, Lee B., ed. “Web Formation.” Skylab, Classroom in Space, Part II, Chapter 3 Studies of the Central Nervous System: 41-48. Prepared by George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. Washington DC: Scientific and Technical Information Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1977.
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Airy Crater Honors British Astronomer Sir George Biddell Airy

Summary: Airy Crater honors British astronomer Sir George Biddell Airy, who, as Astronomer Royal, established Greenwich as the prime meridian’s location.

Detail of Lunar Astronautical Charts (LAC) 95 shows Airy Crater as a busy primary crater with 17 of the Airy Crater system’s 19 satellites and as southernmost end of chain of three craters, with Vogel (not shown) at northern end and Argelander at trio's midpoint; courtesy NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) / GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) / ASU (Arizona State University): Public Domain, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Airy Crater honors British astronomer Sir George Biddell Airy, who, during his tenure as Astronomer Royal, succeeded in establishing Greenwich, South East England, as the new Prime Meridian.

Airy Crater is a lunar impact crater in the near side’s southeastern quadrant. Airy’s worn rim has breaks in its northern and southern ends. A central peak arises from the crater’s rough interior floor.

Airy Crater is centered at minus 18.14 degrees south latitude, 5.61 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The southern hemisphere crater establishes its northernmost and southernmost latitudes to minus 17.5 degrees south and minus 18.78 degrees south, respectively. The equatorial crater sets its easternmost and westernmost longitudes to 6.29 degrees east and 4.94 degrees east, respectively. Airy Crater’s diameter measures 38.9 kilometers.

Airy occurs as the southernmost member of a chain of three craters that form a north-south alignment and that exhibit size increases from north to south. Vogel Crater anchors the northernmost end. Argelander Crater is positioned as the chain’s middle member.

Vogel Crater occurs as the smallest member of the chain. Small craters mar Vogel’s northern and southern ends.

Vogel Crater is centered at minus 15.11 degrees south latitude, 5.83 degrees east longitude. It narrows its northernmost and southernmost latitudes to minus 14.67 degrees south and minus 15.54 degrees south, respectively. It confines its easternmost and westernmost longitudes to 6.28 degrees east and 5.38 degrees east, respectively. Vogel Crater has a diameter of 26.3 kilometers.

Argelander, the chain’s midpoint crater, exhibits a worn rim with a rampart on its western side. A small central feature arises from the fairly flat interior floor.

Argelander is centered at minus 16.55 degrees south latitude, 5.8 degrees east longitude. It posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of minus 15.99 degrees south and minus 17.11 degrees south, respectively. It marks its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 6.38 degrees east and 5.22 degrees east, respectively. Argelander Crater’s diameter measures 33.72 kilometers.

The Vogel-Argelander-Airy chain lies to the east of Mare Nubium. The irregularly shaped Sea of Clouds claims residency in the near side’s portions of the moon’s southern and western hemispheres.

Mare Nubium is centered at minus 20.59 degrees south latitude, minus 17.29 degrees west longitude. The lunar mare (Latin: mare, “sea”) obtains its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 11.85 degrees south and minus 30.48 degrees south, respectively. The dark, basaltic plain’s easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at minus 5.45 degrees west and minus 29.27 degrees west, respectively. Mare Nubium’s length spans 714.5 kilometers.

The moon’s prime meridian lies between Airy Crater and Mare Nubium’s eastern edge. The prime meridian’s longitude of zero degrees demarcates the moon’s eastern and western hemispheres. The prime meridian’s imaginary line traverses the lunar near side’s surface in its north and south polar linkage.

The prime meridian’s opposite is the 180th meridian. The lunar prime meridian’s antemeridian occurs on the dark side of the moon.

Airy Crater parents 19 satellites among the jumble of craters in the near side’s central region. The equatorial-latitude Airy Crater system’s satellites mostly fan somewhat distantly from their parent’s eastern side.

Airy Crater honors British astronomer Sir George Biddell Airy (July 27, 1801-Jan. 2, 1892). The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved Airy as the lunar impact crater’s official name in 1935, during the organization’s Vth (5th) General Assembly, held in Paris, France, from Wednesday, July 10, to Wednesday, July 17. The letter designations for the Airy Crater system’s 19 satellites were approved in 2006.

Sir George’s astronomical accomplishments include updating the Royal Observatory at Greenwich in South East England during his lengthy tenure as Astronomer Royal. He was appointed as the seventh Astronomer Royal on June 18, 1835, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich website. He remained in the post until his resignation Aug. 15, 1881.

Sir George designed the telescope that bears his name, the Airy Transit Circle. The first observation, known as first light, was taken on Jan. 4, 1851, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich’s website. The greatly accurate telescope was used to define the “Prime Meridian of the World,” zero degrees longitude. The Universal Day started at Greenwich.

Sir George was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRAS) on Jan. 21, 1836. He served as President of the Royal Society (PRAS) from 1871 to 1873.

Sir George served four terms as President of the Royal Astronomical Society (PRAS): 1835-1837, 1849-1851, 1853-1855, 1863-1864. Sir George shares the record for most-termed Royal Society presidency with English astronomer Francis Baily (April 28, 1774-Aug. 30, 1844), according to the Royal Astronomical Society’s website. Baily is credited as the first complete describer of the diamond ring phenomenon, known as Baily’s beads, associated with annular and total solar eclipses.

The takeaways for Airy Crater, which honors British astronomer Sir George Biddell Airy, are that the worn, broken-rimmed lunar impact crater lies in the lunar near side’s southeastern quadrant; that the southern hemisphere crater resides in the near side’s central region, to the near east of the moon’s prime meridian and on the other side of the prime meridian from Mare Nubium (Sea of Clouds); that the equatorial region crater parents 19 satellites; that the crater’s namesake is credited with designing the Airy Transit Circle, which established the terrestrial prime meridian at Greenwich in South East England; and that Sir George’s astronomical accomplishments include sharing the record as most-termed President of the Royal Society (PRAS) with English astronomer Francis Baily.

view of Airy Crater, obtained in 1967 by Lunar Orbiter IV; NASA ID 4101 H2: 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) 95 shows Airy Crater as a busy primary crater with 17 of the Airy Crater system’s 19 satellites and as southernmost end of chain of three craters, with Vogel (not shown) at northern end and Argelander at trio's midpoint; courtesy NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) / GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) / ASU (Arizona State University): Public Domain, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/Lunar/lac_95_wac.pdf

view of Airy Crater, obtained in 1967 by Lunar Orbiter IV; NASA ID 4101 H2: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Airy_crater_4101_h2.jpg

For further information:

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The Royal Society. “Airy; Sir; George Biddell (1801-1892).” The Royal Society > Fellows.
Available via The Royal Society @ https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Persons&dsqPos=0&dsqSearch=%28%28text%29%3D%27Airy%27%29

Stratton, F.J.M. (Frederick John Marrian), ed. Vth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. V B Proceedings of the 5th General Assembly Paris France, July 10-17, 1935. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press, Jan. 1, 1936.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

van der Hucht, Karel A., ed. XXVIth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. XVII B Proceedings of the 26th General Assembly Prague, Czech Republic, August 14-25, 2006. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press, Dec. 30, 2008.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

Wilhelms, Don E.; John F. McCauley; and Newell J. Trask. The Geologic History of the Moon. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1348. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1987.
Available via USGS Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1348

Winterburn, Emily. “The Airy Transit Circle.” BBC > British History > Victorians. Feb. 17, 2011.
Available @ http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/airy_george_01.shtml

Stieglitz Crater Hosts Radar Bright Materials in Shadowed Areas

Summary: Stieglitz Crater hosts radar bright materials in shadowed areas on the crater’s north-facing walls and at its interior floor’s midpoint.

Image acquired via NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft’s Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) shows Stieglitz Crater and its northern neighbor, Gaudí Crater, as two large craters (upper center) on smooth plains of Borealis Planitia (Northern Plain) in Mercury’s high northern latitudes; MDIS monochrome base map has been color-coded by elevation (blue=lower elevation; red=high elevation; green, yellow=northern rise of about 1.5 kilometers [1 mile]); NASA ID PIA16536; image addition date 2012-11-14; image credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal

Stieglitz Crater hosts radar bright materials in shadowed areas that are located at the midpoint of the crater’s interior floor and on north-facing walls of the crater’s southern side.

Stieglitz Crater is a crater on Mercury, the Solar System planet that orbits closest to the sun. Stieglitz occurs within Borealis Planitia (Northern Plain), the Mercurial north polar region’s smooth plains.

Stieglitz is centered at 72.54 degrees north latitude, 292.37 degrees west longitude, according to the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 73.63 degrees north and 71.44 degrees north, respectively. The polar region crater obtains its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 288.7 degrees west and 296.03 degrees west, respectively. Stieglitz Crater’s diameter measures 100 kilometers.

Gaudí Crater is Stieglitz Crater’s nearest named neighbor in Borealis Planitia. Stieglitz lies to the south of Gaudí.

Gaudí is centered at 76.9 degrees north latitude, 290.84 degrees west longitude. It registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 77.85 degrees north and 75.96 degrees north, respectively. It records easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 286.67 degrees west and 295.01 degrees west, respectively. Gaudí Crater has a diameter of 81 kilometers.

Gaudí and Stieglitz number among the plethora of craters hosting radar-bright features in Mercury’s north polar region. Planetary scientist Nancy L. Chabot and six co-authors, representing a collaboration of researchers from Maryland’s Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL), the National Astronomy and Ionosophere Center at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory and Washington DC’s Carnegie Institution, reported on “Craters Hosting Radar-Bright Deposits in Mercury’s North Polar Region” at the 43rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, held Monday, March 19, to Friday, March 23, 2012, in The Woodlands, east central Texas.

The Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) carried by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) robotic spacecraft MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging) imaged Mercury’s surface, with an average resolution of 250 meters per pixel. MESSENGER’s highly eccentric orbit exhibited a minimum altitude of approximately 200 kilometers over the north polar region and a maximum altitude of approximately 15, 200 kilometers over the south polar region.

Two base maps presented the same terrain under different illumination conditions. A monochrome map emphasized surface morphology. A color map enabled the determination of color characteristics. Averaging the two base maps captured the locations remaining in shadow in both maps. A comparison with the highest resolution radar images obtained from Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory yielded congruity between radar-bright and shadowed locations.

Mapping of all craters with diameters equal to or greater than 10 kilometers revealed the prevalence of radar-bright features in craters near Mercury’s north pole. Craters lacking radar-bright features stood out as exceptions.

Both Gaudí Crater and Stieglitz Crater exhibit radar-bright features that coincide with locations identified as shadowed in the MDIS data. The radar-bright, shadowed locations occur along the north-facing walls of their southern sides. Radar-bright, shadowed areas appear in the central peak formation on Stieglitz Crater’s interior floor. Easily half a dozen radar-bright, shadowed areas dot Gaudí Crater’s interior floor.

Chabot and her six co-researchers reference the hypothesis of Mercury’s permanent, polar region cold traps put forth in papers in the October 23, 1992, issue of Science by Martin Slade of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Bryan Butler and Duane Muhleman of the California Institute of Technology’s (Caltech) Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences and by Slade with John Harmon of Arecibo, Puerto Rico’s National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center. Slade, Butler and Muhleman collected their data from radar observations conducted Aug. 8 and Aug. 23, 1991, via transmitting by NASA JPL’s Goldstone 70-meter (230-foot) antenna in the Mojave Desert, southeastern California, and receiving by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Very Large Array (VLA) in Socorro, south central New Mexico. Random-code delay-Doppler mapping obtained by Harmon at Arecibo over 28 dates supported the hypothesis of cold, permanently shadowed, large craters in Mercury’s north polar region as stable water ice traps.

The takeaways for Stieglitz Crater’s hosting of radar-bright materials in shadowed areas are that maps obtained via NASA’s robotic MESSENGER spacecraft’s Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) reveal the prevalent coincidence of radar-bright materials with shadowed areas in craters with diameters of 10 or more kilometers in Mercury’s north polar region and that the results are consistent with a water-ice hypothesis of trapped water ice in cold, persistently shadowed sites.

Image obtained Aug. 27, 2012, by NASA’s robotic MESSENGER spacecraft shows Stieglitz Crater’s central peak, which hosts radar-bright materials; NASA ID PIA16420; image addition date 2012-10-08; image credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Image acquired via NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft’s Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) shows Stieglitz Crater and its northern neighbor, Gaudí Crater, as two large craters (upper center) on smooth plains of Borealis Planitia (Northern Plain) in Mercury’s high northern latitudes; MDIS monochrome base map has been color-coded by elevation (blue=lower elevation; red=high elevation; green, yellow=northern rise of about 1.5 kilometers [1 mile]); NASA ID PIA16536; image addition date 2012-11-14; image credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA16536

Image obtained Aug. 27, 2012, by NASA’s robotic MESSENGER spacecraft shows Stieglitz Crater’s central peak, which hosts radar-bright materials; NASA ID PIA16420; image addition date 2012-10-08; image credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA16420

For further information:

Chabot, Nancy L.; Carolyn M. Ernst; John K. Harmon; Scott L. Murchie; Sean C. Solomon; David T. Blewett; and Brett W. Denevi. “Craters Hosting Radar-Bright Deposits in Mercury’s North Polar Region.” 43 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 2012.
Available @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2012/pdf/1476.pdf

Grego, Peter. Venus and Mercury, and How to Observe Them. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. New York NY: Springer Science+Business Media, 2008.

Harmon, John K.; and Martin A. Slade “Radar Mapping of Mercury: Full-Disk Images and Polar Anomalies.” Science, new series vol. 258, issue 5082 (Oct. 23, 1992): 640-643.
Available via AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) @ https://science.sciencemag.org/content/258/5082/640
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/2880195

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Borealis Planitia.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated April 17, 2018.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/823

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Gaudí.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Aug. 6, 2012.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/15021

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Stieglitz.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Feb. 27, 2012.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14928

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Target: Mercury.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/MERCURY/target

Jenner, Lynn, page ed. “Mountains of Darkness.” NASA > Mission Pages > MESSENGER > Multimedia. Page last updated Oct. 8, 2012.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/messenger/multimedia/messenger_orbit_image20121008_1.html

Kreslavsky, M.A.; J.W. Head; G.A. Neumann; M.T. Zuber; and D.E. Smith. “Features of the Northern Smooth Plains of Mercury Revealed by Detrended MLA Topography: Comparison With the Moon.” 47th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, March 21-25, 2016: Abstract #1333.
Available via USRA-Houston @ https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2016/pdf/1333.pdf

Marriner, Derdriu. “Stieglitz Crater Honors American Photographer Alfred Stieglitz.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, July 10, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/07/stieglitz-crater-honors-american.html

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “PIA16536: Running Up That Hill.” NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Photojournal > Catalog. Image added 2012-11-14.
Available @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA16536

NASA Messenger. “Image of Mercury: Close-up of Craters Hosting Radar-Bright Deposits.” SpaceRef > Solar System > Mercury. March 26, 2012.
Available @ http://spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=40381

Paige, David A.; Stephen E. Wood; and Ashwin R. Vasavada. “The Thermal Stability of Water Ice at the Poles of Mercury.” Science, new series vol. 258, issue 5082 (Oct. 23, 1992): 643-646.
Available via AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) @ https://science.sciencemag.org/content/258/5082/643
Available via UCLA Diviner @ http://luna1.diviner.ucla.edu/~dap/pubs/012.pdf

Slade, Martin A.; Bryan J. Butler; and Duane O. Muhleman. “Mercury Radar Imaging: Evidence for Polar Ice.” Science, new series vol. 258, issue 5082 (Oct. 23, 1992): 635-640.
Available via AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) @ https://science.sciencemag.org/content/258/5082/635
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/2880194

Talbert, Tricia, ed. “MESSENGER Finds New Evidence for Water Ice at Mercury’s Poles.” NASA > Mission Pages > MESSENGER > Media. Nov. 29, 2012.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/messenger/media/PressConf20121129.html

Stieglitz Crater Honors American Photographer Alfred Stieglitz

Summary: Stieglitz Crater honors American photographer Alfred Stieglitz as a north polar latitude crater occupying planet Mercury’s Borealis Planitia (Northern Plain).

Detail of Map of the H-1 (Borealis) Quadrangle of Mercury shows Stieglitz Crater as north polar occupant of Mercury’s Borealis Planitia (North Plains): courtesy NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) / Johns Hopkins University of Applied Physics Laboratory / Carnegie Institution of Washington / USGS (U.S. Geological Survey), via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Stieglitz Crater honors American photographer Alfred Stieglitz as a north polar region crater lying on smallest, innermost Solar System planet Mercury’s Borealis Planitia (Northern Plain).

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature’s (WGPSN) website, which is maintained by the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) Astrogeology Science Center, announced Feb. 28, 2012: “The name Stieglitz has been approved for a crater on Mercury.”

Stieglitz is centered at 72.54 degrees north latitude, 292.37 degrees west longitude, according to the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 73.63 degrees north and 71.44 degrees north, respectively. The polar region crater obtains its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 288.7 degrees west and 296.03 degrees west, respectively. Stieglitz Crater’s diameter measures 100 kilometers.

Stieglitz Crater resides on Borealis Planitia (Northern Plain). The feature occurs as smooth plains in Mercury’s northern polar area.

Borealis Planitia is centered at 67.3 degrees north latitude, 327.4 degrees west longitude. The northernmost and southernmost latitudes of the northern polar plains stretch to 86.9 degrees north and 29.5 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 225.4 degrees west and 134.6 degrees west, respectively. Borealis Planitia’s diameter spans 3,450 kilometers.

A photo acquired Aug. 27, 2012, by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) robotic MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging) spacecraft shows Stieglitz Crater’s ejecta blanket. Secondary impacts have formed linear chains radiating from Stieglitz Crater’s larger impact. Smaller secondaries appear as very small, irregularly distributed craters.

MESSENGER launched Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2004, at 06:15:57 Universal Time (2:15 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time) from east central Florida’s Cape Canaveral. Three Mercury fly-bys took place Jan. 14, 2008, at a distance of 125 miles; Oct. 6, 2008, at 124 miles; and Sep. 29, 2009, at 124 miles.

On March 18, 2011, preparatory to its first Mercury science mission, MESSENGER entered a near-polar eccentric orbit around Mercury. On April 4, 2011, MESSENGER began data collection for the science mission. A one-year extended mission commenced March 18, 2012. A second extended mission, granted for two years, began on March 18, 2013.

Stieglitz Crater honors American photographer (Jan. 1, 1864-July 13, 1946). Stieglitz captured a range of photographic subjects, including events, nature, people, places and things, in his determination to establish photography as a modern art form.

Clouds numbered among his nature photographs. His first extant cloud photographs date to 1922, according to Judy Annear, senior curator photographs at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, in the Spring 2011 issue of American Art. Four hundred cloud photographs have survived from the period between 1922 and 1931.

In his article, “How I Came to Photograph Clouds,” published in the 1923 issue of Amateur Photographer and Photography, Stieglitz explained the motivation for his focusing on clouds as an attempt to discern what he had learned from four decades as a photographer. He noted 1923 as “40 years this year” from the start of his studies with German photochemist and photographer Hermann Wilhelm Vogel (March 26, 1834-Dec. 17, 1898) at Technische Hochschule in Berlin, Germany.

In selecting clouds to express his philosophy of life, Stieglitz was pursuing a natural phenomenon that had been on his mind for over 35 years. He traced his interest in the relationship between clouds and “the rest of the world” to a “few days” passed in Mürren in the Bernese Highlands (German: Berner Oberland), southern canton of Bern, west-central Switzerland.

Initially, Stieglitz associated his cloud photographs with music. Early titles for this photographs included Music: A Sequence of Ten Cloud Photographs (1922) and Songs of the Sky (1923), according to the Art Institute of Chicago’s webpages on the art museum’s Alfred Stieglitz Collection.

Judy Annear’s article identifies 1925 as the year in which Stieglitz switched to Equivalents as the name for his cloud photographs. He viewed his cloud depictions as expressions of his emotions.

The takeaways for Stieglitz Crater, which honors American photographer Alfred Stieglitz, are that the crater is founded on Borealis Planitia (Northern Plains) in planet Mercury’s north polar region; and that the crater’s namesake, who explored photography as a modern art form, sought to capture the expressive quality of clouds in hundreds of photographs taken between 1922 and 1931.

Image acquired Aug. 27, 2012, by NASA’s robotic MESSENGER spacecraft shows Stieglitz Crater’s ejecta blanket; secondary impact-formed linear chains radiate from the larger Stieglitz impact; in the image’s middle, smaller secondaries appear as very small, irregularly-distributed craters; north is to the right, with the sun low on the horizon; NASA ID PIA16422; image addition date 2012-10-10; image credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Detail of Map of the H-1 (Borealis) Quadrangle of Mercury shows Stieglitz Crater as north polar occupant of Mercury’s Borealis Planitia (North Plains): courtesy NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) / Johns Hopkins University of Applied Physics Laboratory / Carnegie Institution of Washington / USGS (U.S. Geological Survey), via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/H-1.pdf

Image acquired Aug. 27, 2012, by NASA’s robotic MESSENGER spacecraft shows Stieglitz Crater’s ejecta blanket; secondary impact-formed linear chains radiate from the larger Stieglitz impact; in the image’s middle, smaller secondaries appear as very small, irregularly-distributed craters; north is to the right, with the sun low on the horizon; NASA ID PIA16422; image addition date 2012-10-10; image credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA16422

For further information:

Annear, Judy. “Clouds to Rain -- Stieglitz and the Equivalents.” American Art, vol. 25, no. 1 (Spring 2011): 16-19.
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/660027

Art Institute of Chicago. “Equivalents.” The Art Institute of Chicago > Stieglitz Series.
Available @ https://archive.artic.edu/stieglitz/equivalents/

Grego, Peter. Venus and Mercury, and How to Observe Them. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. New York NY: Springer Science+Business Media, 2008.

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Borealis Planitia.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated April 17, 2018.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/823

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Stieglitz.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Feb. 27, 2012.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14928

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Target: Mercury.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/MERCURY/target

Jenner, Lynn, page ed. “Stieglitz Strikes.” NASA > Mission Pages > MESSENGER > Multimedia. Page last updated Oct. 10, 2012.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/messenger/multimedia/messenger_orbit_image20121010_1.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Stickney Crater Honors Phobos Discoverer Asaph Hall’s First Wife.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, July 3, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/07/stickney-crater-honors-phobos.html

Stieglitz, Alfred. “How I Came to Photograph Clouds.” Amateur Photographer and Photography, vol. 56, no. 1819 (Sept. 19, 1923): 255.
Available @ http://jnevins.com/steiglitzclouds.htm

Stieglitz, Alfred. “How I Came to Photograph Clouds.” Page 237. In: Richard Whelan, comp., Stieglitz on Photography: His Selected Essays and Notes. New York NY: Aperture Foundation, 2000.

U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center. “Mercury Crater Named Stieglitz.” Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > News. Feb. 28, 2012.
Available @ https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/news/nomenclature/mercury-crater-named-stieglitz

Stickney Crater Honors Phobos Discoverer Asaph Hall’s First Wife

Summary: Stickney Crater honors Phobos discoverer Asaph Hall’s first wife, American mathematician Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall.

image of Stickney Crater, with Limtoc Crater inside (top center), obtained March 23, 2008, from a distance of 6,800 kilometers (about 4,200 miles), by NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s (MRO) High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera; HiRISE catalog no. PSP_007769_9010; NASA ID PIA10368; image addition date 2008-04-09: image credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal

Stickney Crater honors Phobos discoverer Asaph Hall’s first wife, American mathematician Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall, who had been Hall’s college mathematics teacher.

Chloe Angeline Stickney (Nov. 1, 1830-July 3, 1892) was known by her middle name. She was born in Rodman, Jefferson County, northeastern New York, to carpenter Theophilus Stickney and his wife, Electa Cook Stickney. As the couple’s sixth child, she was preceded by two brothers, who died in infancy, and three older sisters, Charlotte, Elmina and Mary.

Angeline entered New York Central College at McGrawville, Cortland County, New York, in May 1852. Her course of study included German; Greek; mathematics, including calculus, mathematical astronomy and surveying; and philosopy.

During her junior year, Angeline taught mathematics at the college. In fall 1854, newly arrived student Asaph Hall III (Oct. 15, 1829-Nov. 22, 1907) enrolled in Angeline’s geometry class.

Angeline received her bachelor’s degree in July 1855. Asaph Hall married Angeline, whom he nicknamed “Angie,” Monday morning, March 31, 1856, in Elkhorn, Walworth County, southeastern Wisconsin.

In August 1877, Asaph Hall discovered Mars’ two moons. In his announcement, published in 1878, Hall credited his successful discoveries to his wife’s enthusiasm for her husband’s work. He explained: “. . . the chance of finding a satellite appeared to be very slight, so that I might abandoned the search had it not been for the encouragement of my wife” (page 5).

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, maintains the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature website. The website’s History of Planetary Nomenclature page notes that in 1970 the IAU formed the Working Group on Martian Nomenclature. As President of Commission 16, Physics of the Planets, John Scoville Hall (June 20, 1908-Oct. 15, 1991) appointed the new group during the IAU’s XIVth General Assembly, which was held in Brighton, England, from Tuesday, Aug. 18, to Thursday, Aug. 27. An article published in the September 1975 issue of Icarus by the 11-member group, explains that a subcommittee, chaired by American astronomer and cosmologist Carl Edward Sagan (Nov. 9, 1934-Dec. 20, 1996), was tasked with naming craters on Phobos.

Stickney Crater is the largest crater on Phobos, the innermost and larger of the Red Planet’s two natural satellites. The prominent crater is centered at 1 degree north latitude and 49 degrees west longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes reach 22 degrees north and minus 20 degrees south, respectively. As a western hemisphere crater, Stickney’s easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend to 28 degrees west and 70 degrees west, respectively. The crater’s diameter spans 9 kilometers.

A small crater, Limtoc, lies within Stickney. Limtoc’s namesake is General Limtoc, a character in Gulliver’s Travels by Anglo-Irish writer and Dean of Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral Jonathan Swift (Nov. 30, 1667-Oct. 19, 1745).

Limtoc’s center latitude is minutes 11 degrees south. Its center longitude is 54 degrees west. As a southern hemisphere crater, Limtoc’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to minus 6 degrees south and minus 16 degrees south, respectively. As a western hemisphere crater, Limtoc’s easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 48 degrees west and 60 degrees west, respectively. The small crater has a diameter of 2 kilometers.

Limtoc and Stickney number among 17 officially named craters on Phobos. In 1973, the IAU’s XVth General Assembly, held in Sydney, Australia, from Tuesday, Aug. 21, to Thursday, Aug. 30, approved Stickney as the official name of the largest Phobosian crater.

The takeaways for Stickney Crater’s namesake, Phobos discoverer Asaph Hall’s first wife, Chloe Angeline “Angie” Stickney Hall, are that American astronomer and cosmologist Carl Sagan chaired the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) subcommittee on naming craters on Mars’ innermost, larger moon and that American astronomer Asaph Hall credited his success to his wife’s enthusiastic support.

Chloe Angeline “Angie” Stickney Hall in 1878, the year after the discovery of Mars’ two moons, Deimos and Phobos, by her husband, American astronomer Asaph Hall III; Angelo Hall, An Astronomer’s Wife (1908), opposite page 104: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

image of Stickney Crater, with Limtoc Crater inside (top center), obtained March 23, 2008, from a distance of 6,800 kilometers (about 4,200 miles), by NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s (MRO) High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera; HiRISE catalog no. PSP_007769_9010; NASA ID PIA10368; image addition date 2008-04-09: image credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10368;
Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stickney_mro.jpg

Chloe Angeline “Angie” Stickney Hall in 1878, the year after the discovery of Mars’ two moons, Deimos and Phobos, by her husband, American astronomer Asaph Hall III; Angelo Hall, An Astronomer’s Wife (1908), opposite page 104: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/astronomerswifeb00hall/page/n116

For further information:

Andover-Harvard Theological Library. “4th row #13: Angelo Hall.” Harvard Divinity School Andover-Harvard Theological Library > Exhibits > HDS at the Turn of the 20th Century > Students > The School Gathers in 1895.
Available @ https://library.hds.harvard.edu/exhibits/hds-20th-century/hds-1895

Born, G. (George) H.; and T. (Thomas) C. Duxbury. “The Motions of Phobos and Deimos From Mariner 9 TV Data.” Celestial Mechanics, vol. 12, issue 1 (August 1975): 77-88.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1975CeMec..12...77B
Available @ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01228626

Contopoulos, G. (George); and A. (Arnost) Jappel, eds. XVth General Assembly -- Transactions of the IAU Vol. XV B Proceedings of the 15th General Assembly and Extraordinary General Assembly Sydney, Australia, August 21-30, 1973. Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Jan. 1, 1974.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

de Jager, C. (Cornelius); and A. (Arnost) Jappel, eds. XIVth General Assembly -- Transactions of the IAU Vol. XIV B Proceedings of the 14th General Assembly, Brighton, United Kingdom, August 18-27, 1970. Washington DC: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Jan. 1, 1971.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

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