Eminescu Quadrangle Is Ninth of 15 Quadrangles of Mercurian Surface

Summary: Eminescu Quadrangle is the ninth of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface and covers equatorial and low latitudes longitudinally from 216 to 288 degrees.

High-resolution targeted observation obtained Jan. 3, 2012, by Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of MESSENGER spacecraft's Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) shows brightly-haloed Eminescu Crater (center) with eastern neighbor Xiao Zhao Crater's rays (upper right); Eminescu's floor contrasts low reflectance of dark materials with bright ring of hollows at crater's center; bright hollows ring Eminescu's center; NASA ID PIA17409; image addition date 2013-08-15; 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

Eminescu Quadrangle is the ninth of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface, and its map covers the Swift Planet's equatorial and low latitudes of 22 degrees south to 22 degrees north latitude, from 216 to 288 degrees west longitude.

As the ninth of Mercury's 15 quadrangles, Eminescu Quadrangle has the letter-number designation of H-9 or H09. H represents Hermes, Greek mythology's equivalent of Roman mythology's Mercurius.

Eminescu Quadrangle's provisional name, Solitudo Criophori, designates a dark patch on Mercury's surface. Greek French astronomer Eugène Michel Antoniadi (March 1, 1870-Feb. 10, 1944) placed Solitudo Criophori at the equatorial and northern low latitudes 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). Solitudo Criophori ("Desert of Criophorus") references the epithet of Hermes as the ram bearer, Hermes Kriophoros (Ancient Greek: Ἑρμῆς κριοφόρος).

The names of Mercury's quadrangles conventionally draw upon prominent local features. Eminescu Quadrangle's namesake is Eminescu Crater. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has assigned the theme of names of historically significant artists, authors, musicians and painters for Mercury's craters. Approved April 8, 2008, Eminescu Crater honors Romanian Romantic era poet Mihai Eminescu (born Mihail Eminovici; Jan. 15, 1850-June 15, 1889).

Eminescu Crater is centered at 10.66 degrees north latitude, 245.79 degrees west longitude, according to the IAU's U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center-maintained Gazetter of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere impact crater's northernmost and southernmost latitudes reach 12.13 degrees north and 9.18 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend to 244.29 degrees west and 247.29 degrees west, respectively. Eminescu Crater's diameter measures 129 kilometers.

Eminescu Crater occurs in north central Eminescu Quadrangle. The NASA-owned Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Photojournal post of April 17, 2008, "Now Introducing: Eminescu," described Eminescu as ". . . a particularly interesting crater . . ." The crater's central peaks exhibit a circular pattern termed a peak ring. Images obtained by the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging) robotic space probe's 11-color Wide Angle Camera (WAC) revealed ". . . unusual color characteristics . . ." in the crater's peaks. The small number of later superposed craters suggest a more recent formation for Eminescu than most of Mercury's craters.

Kunisada Crater lies to the south as Eminescu Crater's nearest named southern neighbor. The crater's name, which was approved Jul 9, 2009, honors Japanese ukiyo-e' (浮世絵, "picture[s] of the floating world") woodblock printmaker Utagawa Kunisada (1786-Jan. 12, 1864 or 1865).

Kunisada Crater is centered at 1.36 degrees north latitude, 247.14 degrees west longitude. The equator-straddling crater registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 4.19 degrees north and minus 1.48 degrees south. It records easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 244.31 degrees west and 249.98 degrees west, respectively. Kunisada Crater's diameter spans 241 kilometers.

A large interior crater is located to the south of Kunisada Crater's center. The NASA-owned Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Photojournal post of Jan. 1, 2008, "Mercury's Violent History," studied an image of then-unnamed Kunisada Crater obtained by the Mercury Dual Imaging System's (MDIS) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) during MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby, Jan. 14, 2008. Onlaps, or embayments, of the interior crater's rim-surrounding ejecta blanket by infill suggest the "relatively fluid" state of the material that filled both craters.

Xiao Zhao Crater neighbors to the east of Eminescu Crater. The crater's name, which was approved Apr 8, 2008, honors 12th-century Chinese painter Xiao Zhao, who was active between 1130 and 1162.

Xiao Zhao Crater is centered at 10.58 degrees north latitude, 236.16 degrees west longitude. The northern hemisphere crater obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 10.86 degrees north and 10.31 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at 235.87 degrees west and 235.44 degrees west, respectively. Xiao Zhao Crater has a diameter of 24 kilometers.

Eminescu Quadrangle shares border with six neighbors. Raditladi Quadrangle (H-4) and Hokusai Quadrangle (H-5) neighbor along Eminescu Quadrangle's northern border. Tolstoj Quadrangle (H-8) aligns with Eminescu Quadrangle's eastern border. Neruda Quadrangle (H-13) and Debussy Quadrangle (H-14) shares Eminescu Quadrangle's southern border. Derain Quadrangle (H-10) is contiguous with Eminescu Quadrangle's western border.

The takeaways for Eminescu Quadrangle as the ninth of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface are that the equator-straddling quadrangle's namesake is 19th-century Romanian Romantic era poet Mihai Eminescu; that Eminescu Crater is located in north central Eminescu Quadrangle; that MESSENGER obtained first images of Eminescu Crater and southern neighbor Kunisada Crater during the robotic space probe's first flyby, Jan. 14, 2008; and that Raditladi and Hokusai quadrangles to the north, Tolstoj Quadrangle to the east, Neruda and Debussy quadrangles to the south, and Derain Quadrangle to the west number as Eminescu Quadrangle's six neighbors.

Detail of Map of the H-9 (Eminescu) Quadrangle of Mercury shows the equatorial region's namesake, Eminescu Crater, with eastern neighbor Xiao Zhao Crater and southern neighbor Kunisada Crater; 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:

High-resolution targeted observation obtained Jan. 3, 2012, by Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of MESSENGER spacecraft's Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) shows brightly-haloed Eminescu Crater (center) with eastern neighbor Xiao Zhao Crater's rays (upper right); Eminescu's floor contrasts low reflectance of dark materials with bright ring of hollows at crater's center; bright hollows ring Eminescu's center; NASA ID PIA17409; image addition date 2013-08-15; 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/PIA17409

Detail of Map of the H-9 (Eminescu) Quadrangle of Mercury shows the equatorial region's namesake, Eminescu Crater, with eastern neighbor Xiao Zhao Crater and southern neighbor Kunisada Crater; 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-9.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/

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

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14388

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Kunisada.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 11, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14585

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/MERCURY/target

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Xiao Zhao.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 14, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14392

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