Apollo 8 Imaged Goclenius Crater During December 1968 Lunar Orbits

Summary: Apollo 8 imaged Goclenius Crater during December 1968 lunar orbits performed by the first three humans to journey to another astronomical body.

view of Goclenius Crater (foreground); Magelhaens A, Magelhaens and Gutenberg D (second row); Colombo A (third row; upper right); long-focal length lens photograph taken Dec. 24, 1968, by Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) William Alison Anders from Apollo 8 spacecraft; NASA ID AS08-13-2225: Generally not subject to copyright in the United States, via NASA Image and Video Library

Apollo 8 imaged Goclenius Crater during December 1968 lunar orbits performed by the first human-crewed mission to travel to another astronomical body.

Apollo 8 launched as the first human lunar-orbiting mission. Liftoff occurred Saturday, Dec. 21, 1968, from the John F. Kennedy Space Center’s (KSC) Launch Pad 39-A at 12:51:00 Greenwich Mean Time/Coordinated Universal Time (7:51 a.m. Eastern Standard Time).

Mission objectives included photographing lunar features. The Apollo 8 black-and-white photograph of Goclenius captures the crater’s grouping with Colombo Crater, the Magelhaens system and Gutenberg satellite D.

Goclenius Crater occupies the lunar near side’s fourth, or southeastern quadrant. In his Atlas of the Universe, English amateur astronomer Sir Patrick Moore (March 4, 1923-Dec. 9, 2012) characterized this quadrant as mainly composed of highlands (2005: page 60).

Goclenius is located along the western edge of the southern extent of Mare Fecunditatis (Sea of Fecundity). Another dark lava plain, Mare Nectaris (Sea of Nectar), lies to the crater’s west-southwest.

Goclenius is centered at minus 10.05 degrees south latitude, 45.03 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The southern hemisphere crater registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 9.17 degrees south and minus 10.93 degrees south, respectively. The eastern hemisphere crater’s easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend to 46.24 degrees east and 43.83 degrees east, respectively. The lunar impact crater’s diameter measures 73.04 kilometers.

The IAU approved Goclenius as the crater’s official name in 1935. Its name dates back to 1651, with the publication of Giovanni Battista Riccioli’s monumental Almagestum Novum (New Almagest). The Italian Jesuit astronomer (April 17, 1598-June 25, 1671) assigned the Latinized name of German polymathic physician Rudolf Göckel (Aug. 22, 1572-March 3, 1621) to the near side crater.

Magelhaens, Magelhaens A and Gutenberg D trail diagonally to the south-southwest of Goclenius. Magelhaens A is attached to its parent crater’s southeastern rim. Gutenberg D lies to the northwest of Magelhaens.

Magelhaens is centered at minus 11.98 degrees south latitude, 44.07 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes register at minus 11.36 degrees south and minus 12.59 degrees south, respectively. The lunar impact crater’s easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 44.7 degrees east and 43.45 degrees east, respectively. Magelhaens claims a diameter of 37.2 kilometers.

Magelhaens A is centered at minus 12.73 degrees south latitude, 44.99 degrees east longitude. The satellite obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes of minus 12.25 degrees south and minus 13.22 degrees south, respectively. Easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend to 45.49 degrees east and 44.5 degrees east, respectively. The satellite’s diameter measures 29.35 kilometers.

German astronomer and selenographer Johann Heinrich von Mädler (May 29, 1794-March 14, 1874) is credited with naming Magelhaens after Portuguese explorer Fernão de Magalhães (Ferdinand Magellan; ca. 1480-Apil 27, 1521). The IAU approved Magelhaens in 1935. Magelhaens A’s approval date was 2006.

Gutenberg D is centered at minus 10.99 degrees south latitude, 42.84 degrees east longitude. The satellite’s marks northernmost and southernmost latitudes of minus 10.66 degrees south and minus 11.32 degrees south, respectively. Easternmost and westernmost longitudes register at 43.17 degrees east and 42.5 degrees east, respectively. Gutenberg satellite D has a diameter of 20.07 kilometers.

Gutenberg D is named after German inventor Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (ca. 1390/1400-Feb. 3, 1468). The satellite’s name received IAU approval in 2006. Approval of Gutenberg as its parent crater’s name had been given in 1935.

Colombo A is centered at minus 14.18 degrees south latitude, 44.46 degrees east longitude. The satellite obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes of minus 13.5 degrees south and minus 14.85 degrees south, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend to 45.16 degrees east and 43.77 degrees east, respectively. A’s diameter measures 40.78 kilometers.

Colombo’s namesake is Spanish explorer Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus; ca. Aug. 26/Oct. 31, 1451-May 20, 1506). The satellite’s parent received IAU name approval in 1935. Satellite A’s name was approved in 2006.

The takeaway for Apollo 8’s image of Goclenius Crater during December 1968 lunar orbits is that the mission’s black-and-white photograph clearly captures the grouping of Goclenius with Magelhaens Crater and satellites Colombo A, Gutenberg D and Magelhaens A.

Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 79 shows grouping of Goclenius Crater with Magelhaens Crater, Magelhaens satellite A, Gutenberg satellite D and Colombo satellite A; scale 1:1,000,000; Mercator Projection: United States Air Force (USAF) Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) via USGS/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:

view of Goclenius Crater (foreground); Magelhaens A, Magelhaens and Gutenberg D (second row); Colombo A (third row; upper right); long-focal length lens photograph taken Dec. 24, 1968, by Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) William Alison Anders from Apollo 8 spacecraft; NASA ID AS08-13-2225: Generally not subject to copyright in the United States; may use this material for educational or informational purposes, including photo collections, textbooks, public exhibits, computer graphical simulations and Internet Web pages; general permission extends to personal Web pages, via NASA Image and Video Library @ https://images.nasa.gov/details-as08-13-2225;
NASA Johnson Space Center Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA does not maintain a copyright, via Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth @ https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/SearchPhotos/photo.pl?mission=AS08&roll=13&frame=2225

Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 79 shows grouping of Goclenius Crater with Magelhaens Crater, Magelhaens satellite A, Gutenberg satellite D and Colombo satellite A; scale 1:1,000,000; Mercator Projection: United States Air Force (USAF) Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) via USGS/Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/Lunar/lac_79_wac.pdf

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