Summary: Stella resides along southeastern Mare Serenitatis on the lunar near side as a northeastern quadrant crater between Ching-Te and Mons Argaeus.
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| Detail of Near Side Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography Map shows Stella's (upper center left) Mons Argaeus-Ching-Te neighborhood in lunar near side's southeastern Mare Serenitatis: USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
Stella resides along southeastern Mare Serenitatis on the lunar near side as a northeastern quadrant crater with Ching-Te Crater and Mons Argaeus as northeastern and southwestern neighbors, respectively.
Stella is centered at 19.91 degrees north latitude, 29.76 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northeastern quadrant craterlet reports northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 19.92 degrees north and 19.91 degrees north, respectively. It lists easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 29.77 degrees east and 29.75 degrees east, respectively. Stella has a diameter of 0.42 kilometers.
Stella is sited along southeastern Mare Serenitatis. The craterlet's location places it near the northwestern edges of the dark, basaltic plain's southern neighbor, Mare Tranquillitatis.
Mare Serenitatis ("Sea of Serenity") is centered at 27.29 degrees north latitude, 18.36 degrees east longitude. The lunar mare (Latin: "sea") extends its northernmost and southernmost latitudes to 37.81 degrees north and 16.13 degrees north, respectively. The dark plain's easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 29.92 degrees east and 6.59 degrees east, respectively. Mare Serenitatis has a diameter of 674.28 kilometers.
Ching-Te and Mons Argaeus reside as Stella's nearest named crater and massif, respectively, along southeastern Mare Serenitatis. Ching-Te lies to the near northeast of Stella. Mons Argaeus stretches to the southwest of Stella.
Ching-Te is centered at 20.02 degrees north latitude, 29.97 degrees east longitude. The lunar impact crater achieves its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 20.08 degrees north and 19.96 degrees north, respectively. It establishes its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 30.03 degrees east and 29.9 degrees east, respectively. Ching-Te's diameter measures 3.7 kilometers.
Ching-Te is positioned southwest of the Apollo 17 landing site. Lunar Module (LM) Challenger landed Monday, Dec. 11, 1972, southeast of the North Massif in the Taurus-Littrow valley.
Stella Craterlet's southwestern neighbor, Mons Argaeus, wedges between southeastern Mare Serenitatis and northwestern Mare Tranquillitatis. 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) glowingly described the massif: "There are few objects on the moon's visible surface which afford a more striking and beautiful picture than this mountain and its surrounding heights with their shadows a few hours after sunrise. It attains an altitude of more than 8,000 feet above the Mare, and at a certain phase resembles a bright spear-head or dagger. There is a well- defined rimmed depression abutting on its southern point" (page 51).
Mons Argaeus is centered at 19.33 degrees north latitude, 29.01 degrees east longitude. The massif obtains its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 20.35 degrees north and 18.71 degrees north, respectively. Easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at 30.04 degrees east and 28.06 degrees east, respectively. Mons Argaeus has a diameter of 61.48 kilometers.
Rima Carmen and Rima Rudolf intervene between Stella and Mons Argaeus. Rima Carmen neighbors to the west of Stella. Rima Rudolf lies to the south.
Rima Carmen is centered at 19.95 degrees north latitude, 29.3 degrees east longitude. The fissure posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 20.19 degrees north and 19.68 degrees north, respectively. The rille marks its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 29.38 degrees east and 29.15 degrees east, respectively. Rima Carmen's diameter measures 15.02 kilometers.
Rima Rudolf is centered at 19.71 degrees north latitude, 29.62 degrees east longitude. The channel records northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 19.81 degrees north and 19.58 degrees north, respectively. The fissure registers its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 29.68 degrees east and 29.6 degrees east, respectively. Rima Rudolf's diameter measures 8.29 kilometers.
Stella numbers among 95 minor features identified with first-name designations on lunar topophotomaps prepared and published by The Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Stella is plotted on NASA Lunar Topophotomap 42C3S3, which was published in October 1974. The map's Names Information lists "Ching-Te, Fossa Rudolf, Rima Carmen, Stella" as unofficial names used "only for the identification of features on this map."
The International Astronomical Union approved Stella as the craterlet's official name in 1976. The Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature traces Stella to "Latin female name."
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| Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 42 shows Stella's (upper right) Mons Argaeus-Ching-Te neighborhood in lunar near side's southeastern Mare Serenitatis: image credit NASA/GSFC/ASU, 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:
Image credits:
Detail of Near Side Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography Map shows Stella's (upper center left) Mons Argaeus-Ching-Te neighborhood in lunar near side's southeastern Mare Serenitatis: USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Near_side_42A.jpg
Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 42 shows Stella's (upper right) Mons Argaeus-Ching-Te neighborhood in lunar near side's southeastern Mare Serenitatis: image credit NASA/GSFC/ASU, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/Lunar/lac_42_wac.pdf
For further information:
For further information:
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Available @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/topophoto/42C3S3/150dpi.jpg
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Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/moonfulldescript00elgeuoft/page/51/mode/1up
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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3686
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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3974
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