Baily Crater Honors British Astronomer Francis Baily

Summary: Baily Crater honors British astronomer Francis Baily, whose astronomical contributions include describing the Baily’s beads phenomenon.

Detail of image obtained 1967 by Lunar Orbiter 4 shows Baily Crater (upper left) with its southern satellite, Baily A (lower right) on lunar near side; NASA ID 40867 H3: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Baily Crater honors British astronomer Francis Baily, whose contributions to astronomy include describing the diamond ring effect, named Baily’s beads in his honor.

Baily Crater is a flooded lunar impact crater in the lunar near side’s northeastern quadrant. Only the rim’s northern portion has survived the crater’s flooding by lava. The remnant crater’s northeastern rim exhibits an outward bulge that might be associated with a pre-flood overlapping crater. Lava resurfacing has flattened the crater’s interior floor.

Baily Crater is centered at 49.78 degrees north, 30.56 degrees east, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The middle latitude crater finds its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 50.2 degrees north and 49.36 degrees north, respectively. The eastern hemisphere crater posts easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 31.21 degrees east and 29.9 degrees east, respectively. Baily Crater has a diameter of 25.68 kilometers.

Baily Crater parents three satellites. Two satellites are sited to the north of their parent. One satellite is located to the south of its parent.

British selenographer Thomas Gwyn Empy Elger (Oct. 27, 1836-Jan. 9, 1897) noted the flanking of Baily Crater by mountains in his Victorian era lunar guide, The Moon: A Full Description and Map of Its Principal Physical Features, published in 1895. He also observed: “The group of mountains standing about midway between it and Burg are very noteworthy” (page 54).

Bürg Crater lies to the south-southwest of Baily Crater. The prominent lunar impact crater occurs near the center of Lacus Mortis (Lake of Death).

Bürg is centered at 45.07 degrees north latitude, 28.21 degrees east longitude. The nearly circular crater sets its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 45.7 degrees north and 44.45 degrees north, respectively. It establishes its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 29.14 degrees east and 27.27 degrees east, respectively. Bürg Crater has a diameter of 41.04 kilometers.

Lacus Mortis is centered at 45.13 degrees north latitude, 27.32 degrees east longitude. The basaltic lava plain obtains its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 47.75 degrees north and 42.5 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at 31.03 degrees east and 23.61 degrees east, respectively. The Lake of Death’s diameter measures 158.78 kilometers.

Baily Crater honors British astronomer Francis Baily (April 28, 1774-Aug. 30, 1844). The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved Baily as the crater’s official name in 1935, during the organization’s XVth (5th) General Assembly, held in Paris, France, from Wednesday, July 10, to Wednesday, July 17. The letter designations for the Baily Crater system’s three satellites received approval in 2006.

Francis Baily’s name is especially associated with a solar eclipse phenomenon that he first described in 1836. The diamond ring effect associated with annular and total solar eclipses is known as Baily’s beads in honor of the provision of the first extensive description of the phenomenon by Francis Baily. He detailed the effect in his paper, “On a Remarkable Phenomenon That Occurs in Total and Annular Eclipses of the Sun,” which was read for the Royal Astronomical Society on Dec. 9, 1836.

Baily revisited the bead phenomenon in “Some Remarks on the Total Eclipse of the Sun, on July 8th, 1842,” which was read for the Royal Astronomical Society on Nov. 11, 1842. He observed the phenomenon via the same Dollond 3.5-foot refracting telescope that he had used for the May 15, 1836, annular solar eclipse. The first appearance of the beads was “. . . distinctly visible . . .” (page 4) to Baily at his observation site in an upper room of a building on the campus of northern Italy’s University of Pavia.

Baily was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS) on Feb. 8, 1820. He served four terms as President of the Royal Astronomical Society (PRAS): 1825-1827, 1833-1835, 1837-1839, 1843-1845. He ties with British astronomer Sir George Biddell Airy (July 27, 1801-Jan. 2, 1892) as the most-termed Royal Society president.

Baily was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRAS) on Feb. 22, 1821. He served one term (1835-1838) as the society’s treasurer and three terms (1832-1834, 1835-1840, 1842-1843) as the society’s vice-president.

The takeaways for Baily Crater, which honors British astronomer Francis Baily, are that the flooded lunar impact crater lies in the lunar near side’s northeastern quadrant; that Baily Crater parents three satellites; and that the lunar crater’s namesake is credited with providing the first complete description of the annular and total solar eclipse phenomenon named Baily’s beads in his honor.

Detail shows Baily Crater with satellites Baily A, Baily B and Baily K on lunar near side; Baerbel Koesters Lucchitta, Geologic Map of the Wilhelm Quadrangle of the Moon (1972): U.S. Geological Survey, via USGS Publications Warehouse

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Detail of image obtained 1967 by Lunar Orbiter 4 shows Baily Crater (upper left) with its southern satellite, Baily A (lower right) on lunar near side; NASA ID 40867 H3: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baily_Baily_A_craters_4086_h3.jpg

Detail shows Baily Crater with satellites Baily A, Baily B and Baily K on lunar near side; Baerbel Koesters Lucchitta, Geologic Map of the Wilhelm Quadrangle of the Moon (1972): U.S. Geological Survey, via USGS Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/0725/plate-1.pdf

For further information:

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