Near Side Chevallier Crater Honors British Astronomer Temple Chevallier

Summary: Near side Chevallier Crater honors British astronomer Temple Chevallier, first director of Durham University Observatory in North East England.

Detail of Lunar Orbiter 4 photograph, taken May 1967, shows Chevallier Crater system, with Chevallier Crater, interior satellite Chevallier B and, near parent's northern rim, Chevallier M (upper left; B1-2), southwestern satellite Chevallier K (A-B 2-3) and Lacus Temporis dweller Chevallier F (D1.5), and Chevallier Crater's nearest named non-satellite neighbor, Atlas A (A-B 1.5); D. Bowker and K. Hughes, Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon (1971); sun angle 75.2, spacecraft altitude 5491.85 kilometers; 1967 Lunar Orbiter IV photograph IV-177-H5 Plate 515: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA NTRS (NASA Technical Reports Server)

Near side Chevallier Crater honors British astronomer Temple Chevallier, who served as the first director of Durham University Observatory, County Durham, North East England.

Disintegrated rim protrusions distinguish massively lava-flooded Chevallier Crater from the surrounding lava-flooded terrain. In his Victorian era lunar guide, The Moon: A Full Description and Map of Its Principal Physical Features, published in 1895, British selenographer Thomas Gwyn Empy Elger (Oct. 27, 1836-Jan. 9, 1897) succinctly described the fairly circular lunar impact crater: "An inconspicuous object enclosed by slightly curved ridges" (page 46).

Chevallier Crater resides in the middle latitudes of the lunar near side's northeastern quadrant. The lunar impact crater is located to the southwest of the more northerly of the two circular patches forming Lacus Temporis (Lake of Time).

Chevallier is centered at 45.01 degrees north latitude, 51.57 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 45.86 degrees north and 44.15 degrees north, respectively. As an eastern hemisphere crater, Chevallier records easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 52.78 degrees east and 50.36 degrees east, respectively. Chevallier has a diameter of 51.83 kilometers.

Chevallier Crater parents four satellites, of which one, Chevallier B, occupies its parent's eastern floor. Chevallier M nudges its parent's northern rim while Chevallier K lies to the south-southwest of its parent. Far-flung Chevallier F resides in Lacus Temporis.

Lacus Temporis comprises two lobes with two small, cup-shaped craters at their intersection. The dark, basaltic plain is centered at 46.77 degrees north latitude, 56.21 degrees east longitude. The middle-latitude mare's northernmost and southernmost latitudes reach 49.36 degrees north and 43.81 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes touch 60.56 degrees east and 52.13 degrees east, respectively. Lacus Temporis measures 205.3 kilometers.

Atlas A resides to the west as Chevallier Crater's nearest named, non-satellite neighbor. Atlas A is centered at 45.34 degrees north latitude, 49.56 degrees east longitude. It obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 45.71 degrees north and 44.97 degrees north, respectively. It finds its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 50.08 degrees east and 49.04 degrees east, respectively. Atlas A has a diameter of 22.22 kilometers.

The International Astronomical Union approved Chevallier Crater’s name in 1935, during the organization’s Vth (5th) General Assembly, held from Wednesday, July 10, to Wednesday, July 17, in Paris, France. The designations of the Chevallier Crater system's four satellites were approved in 2006.

Anglican clergyman Temple Chevallier (Oct. 19, 1794-Nov. 4, 1873) was appointed in 1835 as the first professor of mathematics at Durham University, County Durham, North East England. In 1841, he became the university's first professor of astronomy. He served as the first director of the newly constructed Durham University Observatory from 1842 to 1871.

In his article, "The History of Astronomy in the University of Durham From 1835 TO 1939," in the December 1980 issue of Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, British physicist George Dixon Rochester (Feb. 4, 1908-Dec. 26, 2001) dated "the study of astronomy" at the University of Durham to Temple Chevallier's assumption of the Chair of Mathematics in 1835 (page 369). Prior to the establishment of the university's observatory, Temple Chevallier compensated for the lack of practical applications of astronomy by giving astronomy students a firm theoretical grounding through intensive study of "large sections" of Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), often simply referenced as the Principia, by English polymath Sir Isaac Newton (Jan. 4, 1643 [Old Style: Dec. 25, 1642]-March 31, 1727 [O.S. March 20, 1726]).

Temple Chevallier served as First Observer at the Durham University Observatory during its construction. His directorship began with the observatory's placement into service in 1842. Work conducted during his directorship included the accurate determination of the observatory's latitude, known as the astronomy of position; meteorological observations; and observations of Jupiter's moons, sunspots and stars near the North Pole. The study of Neptune at the University of Durham Observatory dates to Oct. 3, 1846, one day after the staff learned of the Sept. 23, 1846, discovery of Neptune.

The takeaways for near side Chevallier Crater's honoring of 19th-century British astronomer Temple Chevallier are that the middle-latitude lunar impact crater lies to the southwest of Lacus Temporis (Lake of Time) in the near side's northeastern quadrant; that the northern hemisphere crater parents four satellites, of which one is located in Lacus Temporis; and that the crater eponymizes 19th-century British astronomer Temple Chevallier, who served for three decades as the first director of the Durham University Observatory in North East England.

Detail of Near Side Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography shows Chevallier Crater (center) and nearby Lacus Temporis (Lake of Time) in the lunar near side's northeast quadrant: U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / 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:

Detail of Lunar Orbiter 4 photograph, taken May 1967, shows Chevallier Crater system, with Chevallier Crater, interior satellite Chevallier B and, near parent's northern rim, Chevallier M (upper left; B1-2), southwestern satellite Chevallier K (A-B 2-3) and Lacus Temporis dweller Chevallier F (D1.5), and Chevallier Crater's nearest named non-satellite neighbor, Atlas A (A-B 1.5); D. Bowker and K. Hughes, Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon (1971); sun angle 75.2, spacecraft altitude 5491.85 kilometers; 1967 Lunar Orbiter IV photograph IV-177-H5 Plate 515: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA NTRS (NASA Technical Reports Server) @ https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19730005152/downloads/19730005152.pdf

Detail of Near Side Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography shows Chevallier Crater (center) and nearby Lacus Temporis (Lake of Time) in the lunar near side's northeast quadrant: U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/moon_nearside.pdf

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