Mercury's Munch Crater Honors Norwegian Painter Edvard Munch

Summary: Mercury's Munch Crater honors Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, whose artwork The Scream, first created in 1893, enjoys international popularity.

Neighborly trio of Poe, Munch and Sander craters occupies Mercury's far norther Caloris Planitia (Plain of Heat); yellow arrows indicate rim of Caloris Basin; image acquired Jan. 14, 2008, by Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of MESSENGER's Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) during first Mercury flyby; resolution at 520 meters/pixel (0.32 miles/pixel); scale at about 530 kilometers (330 miles) across; spacecraft altitude at 20,400 kilometers (12,400 miles); credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Mercury's Munch Crater honors Norwegian painter Edward Munch, who created the first of four versions of his internationally recognized, Expressionist artwork The Scream in 1893.

Munch Crater resides in Mercury's northern Caloris Planitia (Plain of Heat). Dark material encircles the impact crater's rim, according to the MESSENGER website hosted by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL).

Munch Crater is centered at 40.48 degrees north latitude, 207.18 degrees west longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. It registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 41.15 degrees north and 39.81 degrees north, respectively. It records easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 206.3 degrees west and 208.06 degrees west, respectively. Munch Crater's diameter measures 57 kilometers.

Munch Crater forms a neighborly trio on Caloris Planitia with Poe Crater and Sander Crater. Munch Crater occurs as the trio's southernmost member. Poe Crater claims the trio's northernmost position. Sander Crater lies to the southwest of Poe Crater and to the northeast of Munch Crater.

Poe Crater is centered at 43.76 degrees north latitude, 200.9 degrees west longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 44.69 degrees north and 42.62 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 199.67 degrees west and 202.13 degrees west, respectively. Poe Crater's diameter of 77 kilometers qualifies it as the largest of the trio.

Sander Crater is centered at 42.43 degrees north latitude, 205.44 degrees west longitude. It posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 42.97 degrees north and 41.88 degrees north, respectively. It marks its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 204.68 degrees west and 206.2 degrees west, respectively. Sander Crater's diameter of 47 kilometers qualifies it as the smallest of the trio.

The craterous trio neighbors in northern Caloris Planitia, a large plain in Mercury's Caloris impact basin. The plain is centered at 31.65 degrees north latitude, 198.02 degrees west longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 48.6 degrees north and 15.54 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes span 176.3 degrees west and 217.97 degrees west, respectively. Caloris Planitia spans 1,500 kilometers.

The trio's location in northern Caloris Planitia situates Thueban Facula (Arabic for "snake") as a northern neighbor. Mercury's bright spots, termed faculae (Latin: "little torch"), receive names for "snake" in various languages, according to the IAU's naming convention. Poe Crater is positioned to Thueban Facula's south while Munch and Sander craters are sited to the bright spot's southwest.

Thueban Facula is centered at 48.7 degrees north latitude, 200.5 degrees west longitude. It obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 49 degrees north and 48.4 degrees north, respectively. It finds its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 200.2 degrees west and 200.8 degrees west, respectively. Thueban Facula has a diameter of 25 kilometers.

Nāwahī (Nawahi) Crater lies to the southwest as Munch Crater's nearest named southern neighbor. The crater's name, approved Nov. 20, 2008, honors native Hawaiian painter Joseph Kahoʻoluhi Nāwahī (Jan. 13, 1842-Sept. 14, 1896), whose full Hawaiian name was Iosepa Kahoʻoluhi Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu.

Nawahi Crater is centered at 35.88 degrees north latitude, 214.74 degrees west longitude. The northern hemisphere crater establishes its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 36.34 degrees north and 35.43 degrees north, respectively. It sets its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 214.18 degrees west and 215.3 degrees west, respectively. Nawahi Crater has a diameter of 38 kilometers.

The IAU approved Munch Crater's name Nov. 20, 2008. The Mercurian impact crater honors Norwegian Expressionist painter and graphic artist Edvard Munch (Dec. 12, 1863-Jan. 23, 1944).

Edvard Munch created the first version of his artwork The Scream in 1893. He entitled the painting in German as Der Schrei der Natur (The Scream of Nature). The Norwegian title for the oil, tempera, pastel and crayon on cardboard painting is Skrik (Shriek).

The takeaways for Munch Crater's honoring Norwegian painter Edvard Munch are that the Mercurian impact crater's name accords with the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) convention of naming Mercury's craters after historically significant artists, authors and musicians; that Munch Crater forms a noticeable trio with neighbors Poe and Sander craters in northern Caloris Planitia (Hot Plain); and that Nawahi Crater lies to the southwest as Munch Crater's nearest named southern neighbor.

mosaic of Munch Crater from images (EN0218246341M, EN0218246345M, EN0218246349M) obtained July 3, 2011, by MESSENGER Narrow Angle Camera (NAC); north is up; image's approximate width at 39 kilometers: James Stuby (Jstuby/MESSENGER), Public Domain, 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:

Neighborly trio of Poe, Munch and Sander craters occupies Mercury's far norther Caloris Planitia (Plain of Heat); yellow arrows indicate rim of Caloris Basin; image acquired Jan. 14, 2008, by Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of MESSENGER's Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) during first Mercury flyby; resolution at 520 meters/pixel (0.32 miles/pixel); scale at about 530 kilometers (330 miles) across; spacecraft altitude at 20,400 kilometers (12,400 miles); credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Munchwitharrows3.png; via NASA/JPL Photojournal @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12034

mosaic of Munch Crater from images (EN0218246341M, EN0218246345M, EN0218246349M) obtained July 3, 2011, by MESSENGER Narrow Angle Camera (NAC); north is up; image's approximate width at 39 kilometers: James Stuby (Jstuby/MESSENGER), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Munch_crater_MESSENGER_NAC_mosaic.jpg

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