Far Side Keeler Crater Honors American Astronomer James Edward Keeler

Summary: Far side Keeler Crater honors American astronomer James Edward Keeler, who is credited with showing multi-rate rotations of Saturn's rings.

oblique view of Keeler Crater's central peak, with highest point rising 3.5 kilometers above the crater floor, obtained July 1969 during lunar orbit, Trans-Earth coast, by Apollo 11 Hasselblad 70-mm camera, film magazine 38/0; NASA ID AS11-38-5571: JStuby (James L. Stuby), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Far side Keeler Crater honors American astronomer James Edward Keeler, whose discovery of the multi-rate rotations of Saturn's rings supported 19th-century Scottish mathematical physicist James Clerk Maxwell's theory of the multiple-particle composition of the gas giant's rings.

The large lunar impact crater occupies the low latitudes south of the equator on the moon's far side. Keeler Crater lies in the far side's southwestern quadrant, north of Mare Ingenii (Sea of Cleverness).

The fairly circular crater has terraced inner walls. A cluster of craterlets incises the northern half of Keeler's generally level interior floor. A ridge runs from the midpoint to the west-southwest.

Keeler Crater is centered at minus 9.78 degrees south latitude, 161.78 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The lunar southern hemisphere crater establishes northernmost and southernmost latitudes of minus 7.17 degrees south and minus 12.39 degrees south, respectively. The fairly circular crater finds easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 164.42 degrees east and 159.13 degrees east, respectively. Keeler Crater's diameter spans 158.07 kilometers.

Keeler Crater hosts four non-resident satellites. Keeler L snuggles along its parent's south-southeastern wall. Satellites S, U and V occur as the Keeler Crater system's external westerners.

Planté Crater claims internal residency on Keeler Crater's east-southeastern floor. The sharply-edged crater is centered at minus 10.22 degrees south latitude, 163.26 degrees east longitude. Northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at minus 9.63 degrees south and minus 10.81 degrees south, respectively. Planté obtains easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 163.81 degrees east and 162.71 degrees east, respectively. Its diameter measures 36.8 kilometers.

Planté Crater hugs the wall that Keeler Crater shares with eastern neighbor Heaviside Crater. The impact-riddled crater is centered at minus 10.44 degrees south latitude, 166.77 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes stretch to minus 7.73 degrees south and minus 13.15 degrees south, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend to 169.53 degrees east and 164.02 degrees east, respectively. Heaviside Crater's diameter measures 164.46 kilometers.

Mare Ingenii lies to the south of the Keeler Crater system. Danny Caes of The Moon-Wiki points out the dark basaltic plain's high albedo swirls that typify strong magnetic fields.

The Sea of Cleverness is centered at minus 33.25 degrees south latitude, 164.83 degrees east longitude. The far side lunar mare registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes of minus 28.54 degrees south and minus 37.42 degrees south, respectively. The southern hemisphere lunar mare records easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 169.85 degrees east and 158.55 degrees east, respectively. Mare Ingenii's diameter spans 282.2 kilometers.

The International Astronomical Union officially approved Keeler Crater’s name in 1970, during the organization’s XIVth (14th) General Assembly, held from Tuesday, Aug. 18, to Thursday, Aug. 27, 1970, in Brighton, United Kingdom. The designations of the Keeler Crater system's four satellites were approved in 2006. The lunar far side's Keeler Crater system honors American astronomer James Edward Keeler (Sept. 10, 1857-Aug. 12, 1900).

James Edward Keeler published his spectroscopic proof of the theory of the particulate composition of Saturn's rings presented in 1859 by 19th-century Scottish mathematical physicist James Clerk Maxwell (June 13, 1831-Nov. 5, 1879). He shared his findings concerning the "magnificent system of Saturn" (page 427) in the first volume of The Astrophysical Journal, the scientific journal he is credited with co-establishing with American solar astronomer George Ellery Hale (June 29, 1868-Feb. 21, 1938) in 1895.

In The Biographical Dictionary of Scientists: Astronomers (1984), science textbook author David Abbott noted Keeler's concentration, after 1898, on studying and photographing nebulae catalogued by Uranus discovered Sir William Herschel (Nov. 15, 1738-Aug. 25, 1822). During this project, "many thousands of new nebulae" were discovered by Keeler (page 89).

James Edward Keeler was known by his middle name by his friends (page 233), according to American physicist and optics specialist Charles Sheldon Hastings (Nov. 27, 1848-Jan. 31, 1932) in his 1903 biographical memoir for the National Academy of Science (NAS). He had long suffered from a mild "heart weakness. On Aug. 12, 1900, the day after diagnosis of his "dangerous condition," he suffered a fatal "stroke of apoplexy" (page 240). He was 42 years old, one month shy of his 43rd birthday.

Keeler, his wife, Cora Slocum Matthews Keeler (1854-Sept. 18, 1944), and his son, Henry Bowman Keeler (Jan. 10, 1893-1918), are buried in the Crypt located in the basement of Allegheny Observatory's Keeler Dome Tower, according to the Allegheny Observatory Historic Structure Report filed in Spring 2014 by six students (Erin Candee, Rachel Kauffman, Jenna Briasco, Jacob Craig, Wenfei Luo, Sapata Pessiki) in University of Pittsburgh Architecture Studies Program instructor Jeff Slack's History of Art and Architecture class. The observatory, built between 1900 and 1912, is located in Pittsburgh's Riverview Park.

The takeaways for far side Keeler Crater's honoring American astronomer James Edward Keeler are that the lunar impact crater lies in the lunar southern hemisphere, north of Mare Ingenii (Sea of Cleverness); that internal resident Planté Crater snuggles against its eastern wall, which is shared with Heaviside Crater; and that Keeler Crater system of one parent and four external satellites eponymizes 20th-century American astronomer James Edward Keeler, whose observational accomplishments include proving the particulate composition of Saturn's rings and discovering new nebulae while studying and photographing the nebulae catalogued by Uranus discoverer Sir William Herschel.

oblique view of Keeler Crater, then known as Crater 302, with Planté Crater along inner eastern (left) wall, obtained May 23, 1969, by Apollo 10 Hasselblad 70-mm camera, film magazine 32/S; NASA ID AS10-32-4823: JStuby (James L. Stuby), 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:

oblique view of Keeler Crater's central peak, with highest point rising 3.5 kilometers above the crater floor, obtained July 1969 during lunar orbit, Trans-Earth coast, by Apollo 11 Hasselblad 70-mm camera, film magazine 38/0; NASA ID AS11-38-5571: JStuby (James L. Stuby), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Keeler_crater_central_peak_AS11-38-5571.jpg; via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/projectapolloarchive/21926188412/in/photolist-zpxrVf

oblique view of Keeler Crater, then known as Crater 302, with Planté Crater along inner eastern (left) wall, obtained May 23, 1969, by Apollo 10 Hasselblad 70-mm camera, film magazine 32/S; NASA ID AS10-32-4823: JStuby (James L. Stuby), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Keeler_crater_AS10-32-4823.jpg; via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons/9460179952/in/album-72157634967503435/

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