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:

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, @ https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/Mercury/Geology/Mercury-Geologic-Map-of-the-Shakespeare-Quadrangle and via U.S. Geological Service's Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/i1408

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 @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/H-3.pdf

For further information:

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

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/909

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/979

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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.
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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/4404

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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

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5750

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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.
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