Earth and Space News: January 2014

Friday, January 31, 2014

Nanotyrannus Natural History Illustrations and Elementary's Dead Clade Walking

Summary: Sherlock Holmes needs no Nanotyrannus natural history illustrations to note a fossilized juvenile in Elementary series' Dead Clade Walking Jan. 30, 2014.

"Jane," now generally thought to be a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex rather than dubious new species Tyrannosaurus (Gorogsaurus lancensis), at the Burpee Museum of Natural History, Rockford, Winnebago County, north central Illinois; Sunday, July 18, 2010, 04:14: Volkan Yuksel, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

A first and second, third and fourth appear in Nanotyrannus natural history illustrations, for a private collection and in the Columbia Broadcasting System's Elementary series episode Dead Clade Walking Jan. 30, 2014.

Director Helen Shaver and writers Robert Doherty and Jeffrey Paul King bring a fictitious fourth Nanotyrannus specimen into Elementary's 38th episode, as Season Two's 14th episode. The fictitious fourth compares and contrasts with Nanotyrannus natural history illustrations in clustering the most complete skeletons ever collected and in claiming controversial calculations and classifications. Deliberate deaths of Doug Newberg and Malcolm Turner and a destroyed fossil drive Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) toward a debunker (Jonno Roberts) of post-extinction dinosaurs.

Jaws, skull and two near-complete skeletons evidenced in subsequent Nanotyrannus natural history illustrations encourage elevation by experts to a new genus or new or established species.

David Hosbrook Dunkle (Sep. 9, 1911-Jan. 3, 1984) from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, found the first fossil in the Lance Formation, Carter County, southeasternmost Montana, in 1942.

The Dunkle curatorship of vertebrate paleontology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH) in Ohio, 1939-1946, gave the jaws and skull the moniker CMNH 7541. The "nearly complete skull with tightly articulated lower jaws" headed Charles Whitney Gilmore (March 11, 1874-Sep. 27, 1945) toward species outside their genus's Belly River habitats. The United States National Museum curator of vertebrate paleontology at the present-day National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., identified CMNH 7541 Sep. 12, 1946.

The scientific classification Gorgosaurus lancensis ("terrible lizard [from the] Lance [Formation]) juggled Gorgosaurus-like muzzles and teeth with "smaller size, elongate shallow maxillary, and rounder orbital fenestra."

Paleontologists kept Gorgosaurus lancensis until Aug. 15, 1988, when Robert T. Bakker, Philip Currie and Michael E. Williams (Aug. 4, 1940-July 12, 2003) kindled other taxonomies.

The University of Colorado-Boulder paleontology adjunct curator, the CMNH curator and the Tyrell Museum for Paleontology collections and research assistant director in Alberta, Canada, looked elsewhere. Forward-facing eyes, head "bent down sharply on the neck," mature-sutured skull and temporal region four times the muzzle's width moved the trio away from gorgosaur species. The three paleontologists named the "more primitive" relative of narrow-muzzled, stereoscopic vision-adapted, wide-fronted Tyrannosaurus rex ("tyrant lizard king") Nanotyrannus lancensis ("pygmy tyrant [from the] Lance [Formation]").

Thomas D. Carr of Carthage College's Biology Department in Kenosha, Wisconsin, offered the taxonomic option of "young T. rex" with "immature bone grain" Sep. 14, 1999.

A large-footed, long-legged, 21.32-foot- (6.5-meter-) long, 1,408.75- to 2,797.66-pound (639- to 1,269-kilogram) skeleton from the Hell Creek Formation, Garfield County, central-southeastern Montana, provided proof in 2001.

The 11-year-old queues up the names BMRP 2002.4.1 and Jane (Walrath Solem, Nov. 25, 1919-July 30, 2015) at Illinois's Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford. Hell Creek Formation's "Bloody Mary" renders Bakker, Black Hills Institute paleontologist Peter Larson, CK Preparations preparator Chris Morrow and dinosaur-prospecting rancher Clayton Phipps unpersuaded since 2006. Bloody Mary and Jane, with CMNH 7541-like skulls, respectively suggest separate-species adulthood with arms and claws twice those of Tyrannosaurus rex and same-species, sleek-bodied, thin-toothed youth.

Rare metal-free rock, not Nanotyrannus natural history illustrations, tell Sherlock of "a miniature T. rex" from above the dinosaur-extinction, K-T (Cretaceous-Tertiary) Boundary 65.5 million years ago.

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

A package left at the front stoop of Sherlock Holmes' (Jonny Lee Miller) contains the remains of a Nanotyrannus, smuggled from Mongolia into the United States, in Elementary tv series' Dead Clade Walking (season 2 episode 14): Elementary @ElementaryCBS, via Twitter Jan. 27, 2014, @ https://www.facebook.com/ElementaryCBS/photos/a.151627898295663.14686.151013691690417/303915126400272/

For further information:

Bakker, Robert T.; Michael Williams; and Philip Currie. 1988. "Nanotyrannus, a New Genus of Pygmy Tyrannosaur, From the Latest Cretaceous of Montana." Hunteria, vol. 1, no. 5 (Aug. 15, 1988): 1-30. Boulder CO: University of Colorado Museum.
Available via Zenobo @ https://zenodo.org/record/1037529#.WwL-lUgvyUk

Carr, T. (Thomas) D. 1999. "Craniofacial Ontogeny Tyrannosauridae (Dinosauria, Coelurosauria)." Journal of Vertebrae Paleontology, vol. 19, no. 3 (Sept. 14, 1999): 497-520. doi:10.1080/02724634.1999.10011161. Norman OK: University of Oklahoma.
Available via ResearchGate @ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254313764_Craniofacial_ontogeny_in_Tyrannosauridae_Dinosauria_Coelurosauria

"Dead Clade Walking." Elementary: The Second Season. Los Angeles CA: Paramount Pictures Corporation, Jan. 30, 2014.

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. London England: George Newnes Ltd., 1892.

Elementary @ElementaryCBS. 27 January 2014. "Added a new photo." Twitter.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/ElementaryCBS/photos/a.151627898295663.14686.151013691690417/303915126400272/

Gilmore, Charles W. 12 September 1946. "A New Carnivorous Dinosaur From the Lance Formation of Montana." Smithsonian Micellaneous Collections, vol. 106, no. 13 (Publication 3857): 1-19. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, Sept. 12, 1946.
Available @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27394614

Joyce, Laurel. 30 May 1988. "Paleontologists' Fieldwork by Phone Identifies 'The Cleveland Critter.'" The Scientist > May 1988 Issue > News.
Available @ https://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/9519/title/Paleontologists--Fieldwork-By-Phone-Identifies--The-Cleveland-Critter-/

Lucy Liu ‏@LucyLiu. 30 January 2014. "Aanother guest on tonight's dead clade walking episode. this one was a real diva #elementary." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/LucyLiu/status/429110951208439808

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 December 2013. “Fruit in Osage Orange Botanical Illustrations and Elementary Series.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/12/fruit-in-osage-orange-botanical.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 November 2013. “George Stubbs Painting The Godolphin Arabian and Elementary's Nutmeg.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/11/george-stubbs-painting-godolphin.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 November 2013. “John Wootton Painting The Darley Arabian and Elementary's Studhorse.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/11/john-wootton-painting-darley-arabian.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 8 November 2013. “John Wootton Painting The Byerley Turk and Elementary's Thoroughbreds.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/11/john-wootton-painting-byerley-turk-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 30 August 2013. “Turner Fighting Temeraire Painting in Elementary Series Episode The Woman.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/08/turner-fighting-temeraire-painting-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 June 2013. “Paul Gauguin Painting Tahitian Women on the Beach in Elementary's The Woman.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/06/paul-gauguin-painting-tahitian-women-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 31 May 2013. “Rubens Painting The Incredulity of St Thomas in Elementary's The Woman.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/05/rubens-painting-incredulity-of-st.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 24 May 2013. “Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Painting Rousse in Elementary Episode The Woman.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/05/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec-painting.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 17 May 2013. “The Bruegel Painted Parable in the Elementary Series Episode The Woman.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-bruegel-painted-parable-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 February 2013. “Osmia Avosetta Natural History Illustrations for Elementary's Bee.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/02/osmia-avosetta-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 February 2013. “Russian Tortoise Natural History Illustrations and Elementary's Clyde Jan. 31, 2013.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/02/russian-tortoise-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 25 January 2013. “Costliest, World-Most Expensive Chopard Watch: 201 Carats at $25 Million.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/01/costliest-world-most-expensive-chopard.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 January 2013. “Chopard Watch Worth $25 Million on Elementary Episode The Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/01/chopard-watch-worth-25-million-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 January 2013. “Claude Monet Painting Nympheas 1918 in Elementary Series' Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/01/claude-monet-painting-nympheas-1918-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 January 2013. “Paul Cézanne Still Life Painting Fruit in Elementary Series' Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/01/paul-cezanne-still-life-painting-fruit.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 28 December 2012. “Paul Signac Painting Women at the Well in Elementary Series' Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/12/paul-signac-painting-women-at-well-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 21 December 2012. “The Van Gogh Pietà Painting in Elementary Series Episode The Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-van-gogh-pieta-painting-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 December 2012. “Edward Hopper Painting Western Motel in Elementary Series' Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/12/edward-hopper-painting-western-motel-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 29 September 2012. "Are Lesser Clovers Sherlock's Lucky Shamrocks on Elementary's Pilot?" Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/09/are-lesser-clovers-sherlocks-lucky.html

Parrish, J.M. (Michael); M. (Michael) Henderson; P. (Philip) J. Currie; and E. (Eva) Koppelhus, eds. 2013. Origin, Systematics, and Paleobiology of the Tyrannosauridae. Dekalb IL: Northern Illinois University Press.

Sloan, Christopher. 2013. Tracking Tyrannosaurs: Meet T. rex's Fascinating Family, From Tiny Terrors to Feathered Giants. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Children's Books.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Shakespeare Quadrangle Is Third of 15 Quadrangles of Mercurian Surface

Summary: Shakespeare Quadrangle is third of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface and covers northern middle latitudes longitudinally from 90 to 180 degrees.

Incomplete map of Shakespeare Quadrangle presents area of northern midlatitude illuminated during the Mariner 10 robotic space probe's three Mercury flybys (March 29, 1974; Sept. 21, 1974; March 16, 1975), with southeast corner noted as "area of resolution inadequate for geologic mapping" and five degree length of entire western border noted as "area in darkness"; Geologic Map of the Shakespeare Quadrangle of Mercury (1983) by John E. Guest and Ronald Greeley, prepared on behalf of the Planetary Geology Program, Planetary Division, Office of Space Science, National Aeronautics and Space Administration: courtesy of U.S. Geological Service, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center's data portal, Astropedia

Shakespeare Quadrangle is the third of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface and references the Swift Planet's northern middle latitudes from 90 to 180 degrees west longitude.

As the third of Mercury's 15 quadrangles, Shakespeare Quadrangle bears the letter-number designation of H-3 or H03. H signifies Hermes, the Olympian deity who equated, in Greek mythology, to Mercurius in Roman mythology.

Shakespeare Quadrangle's provisional name, Caduceata (Latin: "having or possessing the caduceus), references Mercury's signature magical wand of two snakes intertwined around a winged staff. Greek French astronomer Greek French astronomer Eugène Michel Antoniadi (March 1, 1870-Feb. 10, 1944) placed Caduceata north of 50 degrees north latitude on the map of Mercury's albedo features in his guide, La Planète Mercure, published in 1934 and translated into English by English amateur astronomer Sir Patrick Moore (March 4, 1923-Dec. 9, 2012) in 1974 (figure 5, page 26).

Mercury's quadrangles conventionally receive names from prominent features. Shakespeare Quadrangle's namesake is Shakespeare Crater. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has established the convention of naming Mercury's craters after historically significant artists, authors, musicians and painters, according to the IAU's U.S.G.S. (U.S. Geological Survey) Astrogeology Science Center-maintained, online Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Approved by the International Astronomical Association (IAU) in 1979, Shakespeare Crater honors Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare (bapt. April 26, 1564-April 23, 1616).

Shakespeare Crater is located in northwestern Shakespeare Quadrangle. The Mercurian impact crater is centered at 48.1 degrees north latitude, 152.25 degrees west longitude, according to the IAU's Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern midlatitude crater registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 52.74 degrees north and 43.36 degrees north, respectively. It records easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 145.29 degrees west and 159.22 degrees west, respectively. Shakespeare Crater's diameter measures 399 kilometers.

The crater's northwestern area is home to Zeehaen Rupes. In accordance with the IAU convention of naming rupes after "ships of discovery or scientific expeditions," Zeehaen Rupes honors one of the two small ships (Heemskerck, Zeehaen) with which Dutch Golden Age explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603-Oct. 10, 1659) discovered Tasmania (Nov. 24, 1642), New Zealand (Dec. 13, 1642), and the Fiji Islands (Feb. 6, 1643). The IAU approved Zeehaen Rupes in 1976.

Shakespeare Crater's resident scarp is centered at 49.64 degrees north latitude, 158.15 degrees west longitude. It finds its northernmost and southern latitudes at 50.85 degrees north and 47.76 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes touch 156.27 degrees west and 159.07 degrees west, respectively. Zeehaen Rupes measures 164 kilometers.

Van Eyck Crater nudges against Shakespeare Crater's southwestern boundary. Approved in 1979, Van Eyck Crater honors Flemish painter Jan Van Eyck (ca. 1390-July 9, 1441).

Van Eyck is centered at 43.22 degrees north latitude, 159.43 degrees west longitude. It posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 46.39 degrees north and 40.01 degrees north, respectively. It marks its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 155.07 degrees west and 163.8 degrees west, respectively. Van Eyck Crater has a diameter of 271 kilometers.

Shakespeare Crater occupies terrain between two planitiae (Latin: "plains"). The quadrangle's namesake crater lies to the south of Suisei Planitia and to the west-northwest of Sobkou Planitia. IAU convention draws names for Mercury's planitiae from names for Mercury, as messenger god or solar system planet, from various languages. Ancient Egyptians knew their messenger deity as Sobkou, often transliterated as Sobek. The Japanese language knows the Swift Planet as Suisei.

Suisei Planitia is centered at 60.88 degrees north latitude, 147.81 degrees west longitude. Shakespeare Quadrangle's northwestern plain obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 67.7 degrees north and 54.41 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at 140.23 degrees west and 156.44 degrees west, respectively. Suisei Planitia's diameter measures 569 kilometers.

Sobkou Planitia is centered at 39 degrees north latitude, 128.02 degrees west longitude. Shakespeare Quadrangle's south central plain extends its northernmost and southernmost latitudes to 49.51 degrees north and 28.59 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 111.41 degrees west and 143.79 degrees west, respectively. Sobkou Planitia's diameter spans 1,128 kilometers.

Southwestern Shakespeare Quadrangle hosts three plains, Budh Planitia, Caloris Planitia and Odin Planitia. Mercury is known by the Sanskrit word Budha (Sanskrit: बुध) in such Hindu astronomical texts as the Aryabhatiya, written at the end of the fifth century CE by classical Indian astronomer-mathematician Aryabhatta (476–550 CE); and Romaka Siddhanta ("Doctrine of the Romans") and Panca Siddhantika ("Five Treatises"), written in the sixth century by Aryabhatta's students, Latadeva and Varahamihira (499-587 CE), respectively. An exception to the IAU convention for names of plains applied in 1976 to Caloris Planitia (Hot Plain). Odin Planitia eponymizes Germanic and Norse mythological Allfather deity Odin (Old Norse: Óðinn), father of Hermóðr, messenger of the gods.

Budh Planitia lies to the east of Odin Planitia and to the southwest of Sobkou Planitia. Budh Planitia is centered at 19.52 degrees north latitude, 150.46 degrees west longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes stretch from 28.42 degrees north to 10.47 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes span from 141 degrees west to 159.65 degrees west, respectively. Budh Planitia's diameter measures 816 kilometers.

As Odin Planitia's western neighbor, Caloris Planitia skims Shakespeare Quadrangle's southeastern corner. The vast plain's primary location is in the Raditladi Quadrangle, Shakespeare Quadrangle's western neighbor. Caloris Planitia is centered at 31.65 degrees north latitude, 198.02 degrees west longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes reach 48.6 degrees north and 15.54 degrees north, respectively. It pegs its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 176.3 degrees west and 217.97 degrees west, respectively. Caloris Planitia's diameter spans 1,500 kilometers.

Odin Planitia occupies the quadrangle's southwestern corner. Odin Planitia is centered at 23.5 degrees north latitude, 169.86 degrees west longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 29.17 degrees north and 18.38 degrees north, respectively. It establishes its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 164.1 degrees west and 176.06 degrees west, respectively. Odin Planitia's diameter measures 473 kilometers.

Shakespeare Quadrangle borders the northern polar region's Borealis Quadrant to the north. Raditladi Quadrangle (H-4) and Hokusai Quadrangle (H-5) occur as Shakespeare Quadrangle's western and eastern neighbors, respectively. Shakespeare Quadrangle's southern borders touch Beethoven Quadrangle (H-7) and Tolstoj Quadrangle (H-8).

The takeaways for Shakespeare Quadrangle as the third of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface are that the quadrangle's namesake is Elizabethan playwright-honoring Shakespeare Crater; that the quadrangle was identified as Caduceata (Latin: "caduceus bearing or possessing") Albedo Province in Greek French astronomer E.M. Antoniadi's 1934 Mercury guide; that Shakespeare Quadrangle hosts five planitiae (Latin: "plains"); and that Shakespeare Quadrangle shares borders with northern neighbor Borealis Quadrangle, eastern neighbor Hokusai Quadrangle, southern neighbors Beethoven Quadrangle and Tolstoj Quadrangle and western neighbor Raditladi Quadrangle.

Map of the H-3 (Shakespeare) Quadrangle of Mercury shows the northern midlatitude region's five plains (Suisei Planitia [upper left], Sobkou Planitia [center to right], Budh Planitia [lower center to left], Odin Planitia [lower left], Caloris Planitia with eastern rim, Caloris Montes [lower left corner]); credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/USGS: courtesy IAU/USGS Astrogeology Science Center's 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:

Antoniadi, E.M. (Eugène Michel). La Planète Mercure et la Rotation des Satellites. Paris, France: Gauthier-Villars, 1934.

Davies, Merton E.; Stephen E. Dwornik; Donald E. Gault; and Robert G. Strom. Atlas of Mercury. Special Publication SP-423. Prepared for the Office of Space Sciences. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scientific and Technical Information Office, 1978.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/SP-423/

Davies, Merton E.; Stephen E. Dwornik; Donald E. Gault; and Robert G. Strom. "H-3 Shakespeare Quadrangle." Atlas of Mercury: 32-39. Special Publication SP-423. Prepared for the Office of Space Sciences. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scientific and Technical Information Office, 1978.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/SP-423/h3.htm

Guest, John E.; and Ronald Greeley. Geologic Map of the Shakespeare Quadrangle of Mercury. IMAP 1408 H-3. Atlas of Mercury 1:5,000,000 Geologic Series. Prepared for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Reston VA: U.S. Geological Survey, Nov. 22, 1983.
Available via USGS Astrogeology Science Center's Astropedia Web Portal @ https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/Mercury/Geology/Mercury-Geologic-Map-of-the-Shakespeare-Quadrangle
Available via USGS Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/i1408

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Budh Planitia.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 7, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/909

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Caloris Planitia.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated May 25, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/979

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Categories (Themes) for Naming Features on Planets and Satellites.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Documentation > Surface Feature Categories.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/Categories

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Coordinate Systems for Planets and Satellites.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Documentation > Target Coordinate Systems.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/TargetCoordinates

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Descriptor Terms (Feature Types).” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Documentation > Descriptor Terms.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Odin Planitia.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 12, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/4404

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Shakespeare.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 13, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5456

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Sobkou Planitia.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Feb. 17, 2017.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5614

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Suisei Planitia.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 14, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5750

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

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Van Eyck.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 14, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/6310

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Zeehaen Rupes.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 14, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/6710

Lunar and Planetary Institute. "Mercury Map Catalog." Lunar and Planetary Institute > Resources.
Available @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mercury_maps/

Mahoney, T.J. (Terry J.). New York NY: Springer Science + Business Media, 2014.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=iC65BAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover

Marriner, Derdriu. "Borealis Quadrangle Is First of 15 Quadrangles of Mercurian Surface." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/01/borealis-quadrangle-is-first-of-15.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Victoria Quadrangle is Second of 15 Quadrangles of Mercurian Surface." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/01/victoria-quadrangle-is-second-of-15.html

North, John. "Chapter 7: Indian and Persian Astronomy." Pages 171-188. Cosmos: An Illustrated History of Astronomy and Cosmology. Chicago IL and London UK: University of Chicago Press, 2008.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=qq8Luhs7rTUC&pg=PA171

Sastry, T.S. Kuppanna. Pañcasiddhāntikā of Varāhamihira With Translation and Notes. Critically Edited With Introduction and Appendices by K.V. Sarma. P.P.S.T. Science Series No. 1. Adyar, Madras, India: P.P.S.T. Foundation, 1993.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/panca-siddhantika-varahamihira-t.-s.-kuppanna-sastry-k.-v.-sarma/

U.S. Geological Survey. Shaded Relief Map of the Shakespeare Quadrangle of Mercury (Caduceata Albedo Province). IMAP 1066 H-3. Atlas of Mercury 1:5,000,000 Topographic Series. Prepared on behalf of the Planetary Programs Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Reston VA: U.S. Geological Survey, 1977.
Available via USGS Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/i1066

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Victoria Quadrangle is Second of 15 Quadrangles of Mercurian Surface

Summary: Victoria Quadrangle is second of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface and covers northern middle latitudes longitudinally between 0 and 90 degrees.

Victoria Quadrangle is the second of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface and references the Swift Planet's northern middle latitudes between 0 and 90 degrees west longitude.

As the second of Mercury's 15 quadrangles, Victoria Quadrangle bears the letter-number designation of H-2 or H02. The letter H represents Hermes, Greek mythology's equivalent of Roman mythology's Mercury.

According to planetary geologist George E. (Emmert) McGill and lunar and space geologist Elbert A. (Aubrey) King's Geologic Map of the Victoria Quadrangle, published in 1983, the northern midlatitude region's provisional name was Aurora Albedo Province. The provisional name references Aurora, the bright-albedo feature appearing in the quadrangle's eastern half. Greek French astronomer Eugène Michel Antoniadi (March 1, 1870-Feb. 10, 1944) depicted Aurora with a latitudinal stretch of 20 degrees north to 50 degrees north on the map of Mercury's albedo features in his guide, La Planète Mercure, published in 1934 and translated into English by English amateur astronomer Sir Patrick Moore (March 4, 1923-Dec. 9, 2012) in 1974 (figure 5, page 26).

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved Victoria as the quadrangle's official name in 1976. A quadrangle's name derives from one of the area's prominent features. Victoria Quadrangle's namesake is Victoria Rupes, a scarp, or long cliff, in northeastern Victoria. The IAU convention requires naming rupes (Latin: rūpēs, "cliff, escarpment") after "ships of discovery or scientific expeditions," according to the IAU's U.S.G.S. (U.S. Geological Survey) Astrogeology Science Center-maintained, online Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Victoria Rupes, officially approved in 1976, honors the first ship to circumnavigate the Earth, Aug. 10, 1519-Sept. 6, 1522. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (Fernão de Magalhães; Feb. 4, 1480-April 27, 1521) commanded the Victoria until his murder, during the voyage, in the Philippines in the Battle of Mactan. Castilian-Basque explorer Juan Sebastián Elcano (misspelled as Del Cano;[ ca. 1486-Aug. 4, 1526) commanded the last portion of the voyage from eastern Indonesia's Moluccas to southern Spain's Sanlúcar de Barrameda, located in northwestern Cádiz province in the now-Autonomous Community of Andalucía. The ship's name eponymized Santa María de la Victoria de Triana, the church in Seville where Magellan pledged allegiance to the historical expedition's sponsor, Carlos I, King of Spain (Feb. 24, 1500-Sept. 21, 1558), who became Carlos V, Holy Roman Emperor, on June 28, 1519.

Victoria Rupes is centered at 52.71 degrees north latitude, 34.16 degrees west longitude, according to the IAU's Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The north-south trending scarp posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 56.4 degrees north and 48.73 degrees north, respectively. It marks its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 33.55 degrees west and 36.14 degrees west, respectively. Victoria Rupes spans 347 kilometers.

Victoria Rupes winds to the west of Borealis Planitia (Northern Plain) in northeastern Victoria Quadrangle. Borealis Planitia, namesake of Mercury's first quadrangle, Borealis, extends into Victoria's northeastern corner and continues along the quadrangle's eastern edge through Victoria's southeastern corner.

In their 1983 Geologic Map of the Victoria Quadrangle of Mercury, McGill and King recognized intercrater plains material, intermediate plains material and smooth plains material as the quadrangle's "three widespread units." As the oldest unit, the intercrater plains material exhibits a very high concentration of largely worn, small craters on an irregular-to-roughened terrain. Smooth textures and low crater density typify the youngest unit, smooth plains material. McGill and King characterized intermediate plains material as having a "relatively low albedo and . . . numerous elongate ridges."

Although associated with intermediate plains material, ridges cross into adjacent intercrater plains material. Also, smooth plains material may border elongate ridges and scarps. An offset of seemingly smooth plains material on crater floors by scarps may have occurred in craters such as Gluck.

The IAU adopts names of historically significant artists, authors, musicians and painters for Mercury's craters. Gluck Crater honors German classical composer Christoph von Gluck (July 2, 1714-Nov. 15, 1787). The IAU officially approved the crater's name in 1979.

Gluck Crater lies to the east and northeast of Borealis Planitia's occupancy of southeastern Victoria Quadrangle. Gluck Crater is centered at 37.95 degrees north latitude, 18.78 degrees west longitude. The Mercurian northern hemisphere midlatitude crater establishes northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 39.13 degrees north and 36.77 degrees north, respectively. The southeastern Victoria crater obtains easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 17.28 degrees west and 20.28 degrees west, respectively. Gluck Crater's diameter spans 100 kilometers.

As the second of Mercury's 15 mapping quadrangles, Victoria Quadrangle shares its northern border with the north polar region's Borealis Quadrangle. Hokusai Quadrangle (H05) borders Victoria Quadrangle's eastern edge. Victoria Quadrangle establishes its southern contiguity with Kuiper Quadrange (H06) and Beethoven Quadrangle (H07). Shakespeare Quadrangle (H03) neighbors to the west of Victoria Quadrangle.

The takeaways for Victoria Quadrangle as the second of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface are that the quadrangle covers one-fourth of the Swift Planet's northern middle latitudes; that the quadrangle's namesake, Victoria Rupes, eponymizes Portugese explorer Ferdinand Magellan's Earth-circumnavigating ship, Victoria; that Victoria Rupes trends north-south to the east of Borealis Planitia in northeastern Victoria Quadrangle; and that Victoria Quadrangle neighbors with Borealis Planitia to the north, Hokusai Quadrangle to the east, Kuiper and Beethoven quadrangles to the south and Shakespeare Quadrangle to the west.

Detail of Map of the H-2 (Victoria) Quadrangle of Mercury shows north-south trending Victoria Rupes (center) to the east of Borealis Planitia (upper right) in Victoria Quadrangle's southeastern corner; credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/USGS: courtesy IAU/USGS Astrogeology Science Center's 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:

Incomplete map of Borealis Region presents area of north polar region illuminated during Mariner 10 encounters; Geologic Map of the Borealis Region of Mercury (1984) by Maurice J. Grolier and Joseph M. Boyce, prepared on behalf of the Planetary Geology Program, Planetary Division, Office of Space Science, National Aeronautics and Space Administration: courtesy of U.S. Geological Service, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center's data portal, Astropedia, @ https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/Mercury/Geology/Mercury-Geologic-Map-of-the-Borealis-Region and via U.S. Geological Service's Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/i1660

Antoniadi, E.M. (Eugène Michel). La Planète Mercure et la Rotation des Satellites. Paris, France: Gauthier-Villars, 1934.

Davies, Merton E.; Stephen E. Dwornik; Donald E. Gault; and Robert G. Strom. "H-2 Victoria Quadrangle." Atlas of Mercury: 32-39. Special Publication SP-423. Prepared for the Office of Space Sciences. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scientific and Technical Information Office, 1978.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/SP-423/h2.htm

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Borealis Planitia.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. 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. “Gluck.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 11, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2194

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Victoria Rupes.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 14, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/6379

Lunar and Planetary Institute. "Mercury Map Catalog." Lunar and Planetary Institute > Resources.
Available @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mercury_maps/

McGill, George E. (Emmert); and Elbert A. (Aubrey) King. Geologic Map of the Victoria Quadrangle of Mercury. IMAP 1409. H-2. Atlas of Mercury 1:5,000,000 Geologic Series. Prepared for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Reston VA: U.S. Geological Survey, Nov. 22, 1983.
Available via USGS Astrogeology Science Center's Astropedia Web Portal @ https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/Mercury/Geology/Mercury-Geologic-Map-of-the-Victoria-Quadrangle
Available via USGS Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/i1409

Moore, Patrick, trans. The planet Mercury [by] E.M. Antoniadi. Translated from the French. Shaldon, England: K. Reid, 1974.

Müller, E.A. (Edith A); and A. (Arnost) Jappel, eds. IAU Transactions: XVI B Proceedings of the XVIth General Assembly Grenoble, France, August 24-September 21, 1976. Washington DC: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Jan. 1, 1977.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

U.S. Geological Survey. Shaded Relief Map of the Victoria Quadrangle of Mercury (Aurora Albedo Province). IMAP 1057 H-2. Atlas of Mercury 1:5,000,000 Topographic Series. Prepared on behalf of the Planetology Programs Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Reston VA: U.S. Geological Survey, Oct. 16, 1977.
Available via USGS Astrogeology Science Center's Astropedia Web Portal @ https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/Mercury/Topography/Mercury-Shaded-Relief-Map-of-the-Victoria-Quadrangle
Available via USGS Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/i1057

Wayman, P. (Patrick), ed. IAU Transactions: XVII Proceedings of the 17th General Assembly Montreal, Canada, August 14-23, 1979. Washington DC: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Jan. 1, 1980.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Borealis Quadrangle Is First of 15 Quadrangles of Mercurian Surface

Summary: Borealis Quadrangle is the first of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface and covers Mercury's north polar area through 65 degrees north latitude.

Incomplete map of Borealis Region presents area of north polar region illuminated during the Mariner 10 robotic space probe's three Mercury flybys (March 29, 1974; Sept. 21, 1974; March 16, 1975); Geologic Map of the Borealis Region of Mercury (1984) by Maurice J. Grolier and Joseph M. Boyce, prepared on behalf of the Planetary Geology Program, Planetary Division, Office of Space Science, National Aeronautics and Space Administration: courtesy of U.S. Geological Service Astrogeology Science Center's data portal, Astropedia

Borealis Quadrangle is the first of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface, and its map covers the Swift Planet's northern polar region, from the north pole southward to 65 degrees north latitude.

For mapping purposes, Mercury's surface is divided into 15 quadrangles. Each quadrangle has two designations. A letter-number identifier combines H for Hermes, Greek mythology's equivalent of Roman mythology's Mercury, with a number from 1 to 15. Borealis Quadrangle bears the designation of H-1 or H01.

The quadrangle's name associates with one of the area's notable features. According to geologists Maurice Grolier and Joseph Boyce's Geologic Map of the Borealis Region, published in 1984, Goethe, the north polar region's provisional name, references Goethe Basin, described by Grolier and Boyce as "a large, circular depression." The provisional name eponymized German literary genius Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Aug. 28, 1749-March 22, 1832).

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has established the convention of naming Mercury's craters after historically significant artists, authors, musicians and painters. The IAU approved Goethe in 1979, during the international association's XVIIth (17th) General Assembly, held in Montreal, Canada, from Tuesday, Aug. 14, to Thursday, Aug. 23.

Goethe Crater is centered at 81.1 degrees north latitude, 51.03 degrees west longitude, according to the IAU's USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) Astrogeology Science Center-maintained online database, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. It registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 84.79 degrees north and 77.41 degrees north, respectively. It records easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 26.45 degrees west and 75.61 degrees west, respectively. Goethe's diameter measures 317.17 kilometers.

The IAU adopted Borealis as the region's official name in 1976. The quadrangle's namesake is Borealis Planitia (Northern Plain). The IAU convention calls for designating planitiae (Latin: "plains") with names of Mercury, as god or planet, in various languages. Of the seven planitiae approved in 1976, Borealis Planitia and Caloris Planitia (Hot Plain) emerge as the only two exceptions to the convention.

Borealis Planitia is centered at 67.3 degrees north latitude, 327.4 degrees west longitude, according to the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The north polar plain's northernmost and southernmost latitudes stretch from 86.9 degrees north to 29.5 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend from 225.4 degrees west to 134.6 degrees west, respectively. Borealis Planitia's diameter spans 3,450 kilometers.

Tryggvadóttir Crater's northern rim touches Mercury's North Pole. In NASA's online Nov. 29, 2012, image feature, "Permanently Shadowed Polar Craters," Tryggvadóttir numbers among permanently shadowed, north polar craters hosting radar-bright deposits in a graphic presented in "Permanently Shadowed Polar Craters," NASA's online image feature for Nov. 29, 2012. The colorful red-and-yellow graphic is based upon Earth-based radar images and a mosaic of images obtained during the primary data collection mission of NASA's MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging), April 4, 2011, to March 17, 2012. The graphic's redness represents areas that are shadowed in all of the region's MESSENGER images. Red areas intensively characterize the north polar region from the north polar to 85 degrees north latitude. Yellow areas signify Earth-based radar-identified bright deposits. Tryggvadóttir Crater, neighbors Chesterton and Tolkien craters and nearby Kandinsky Crater all appear as golden landmarks surrounded by red terrain.

The IAU approved the north pole's crater Aug. 20, 2012, during the organization's XXVIIIth (28th) General Assembly, held in Beijing, China, from Monday, Aug. 20, to Friday. Aug. 31. The crater honors Icelandic abstract expressionist artist Nína Tryggvadóttir (March 16, 1913-June 18, 1968), born Jónína Tryggvadóttir.

Tryggvadóttir Crater is centered at 89.55 degrees north latitude, 171.56 degrees west longitude. It posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 89.92 degrees north and 89.18 degrees north, respectively. It marks its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 116.53 degrees west and 226.58 degrees west, respectively. Tryggvadóttir Crater has a diameter of 31 kilometers.

In their 1984 geologic map, Grolier and Boyce described the Borealis region as comprising intercrater plains material, intermediate plains material and smooth plains material. They recognized the intercrater plains material as the Borealis region's "oldest recognizable map unit" and characterized this material as densely dominated by superposed, usually shallowly elongated craters with diameters of 5 to 10 kilometers. The Borealis quadrangle's intermediate plains material offer a transition between intercrater plains material's crater density and smooth plains material's small, bright-halo craters.

Four northern midlatitude quadrangles shares their northern borders with Borealis Quadrangle's southern border. Victoria Quadrangle, Shakespeare Quadrangle, Raditladi Quadrangle and Hokusai Quadrangle are mapped as Borealis Quadrangle's southern neighbors.

The takeaways for Borealis Quadrangle as the first of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface are that the Swift Planet's northernmost quadrangle has the letter-number designator of H-01, with H representing Hermes, Greek mythology's Olympian equivalent of Roman mythology's Mercury; that Borealis Quadrangle's namesake is the area's dominant feature, Borealis Planitia (Northern Plain); that Borealis Planitia joins Caloris Planitia (Hot Plain) as the only two exceptions to the International Astronomical Union's convention of naming plains after names for Mercury, as god or planet, in various languages; that Tryggvadóttir Crater, whose northern rim marks Mercury's north pole, honors 20th-century Icelandic abstract expressionist artist Nína Tryggvadóttir; and that intercrater plains material, transitional intermediate plains material and smooth plains material characterize Borealis Quadrangle's stratigraphy.

Charter", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> Map of the H-1 (Borealis) Quadrangle of Mercury; credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/USGS: courtesy IAU/USGS Astrogeology Science Center's 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:

Map of the H-1 (Borealis) Quadrangle of Mercury; credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/USGS: courtesy IAU/USGS Astrogeology Science Center's Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/H-1.pdf

For further information:

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