Hevelius Crater Parents Seven Satellites at West Oceanus Procellarum

Summary: Hevelius Crater parents seven satellites, of which three are internal and four are external, at western Oceanus Procellarum, the largest lunar plain.

Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 56 shows the Hevelius Crater system's parent and five of its seven satellites; (bottom left corner) Hevelius Crater with satellites A, B, E and J; (right center) Hevelius D: image credit NASA/GSFC/ASU, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Hevelius Crater parents seven satellites, with three sited internally and four located externally, at western Oceanus Procellarum, the moon's largest basaltic plain.

The Hevelius Crater system is located in the lunar near side's northwest quadrant. The system's parent and seven satellites are associated with southwestern Oceanus Procellarium ("Ocean of Storms"). The dark, basaltic plain's distinction as the moon's only ocean (Latin: oceanus) emphasizes its status as the largest lunar mare (Latin: mare, "sea"; plural: maria).

Oceanus Procellarum is centered at 20.67 decimal degrees north latitude, minus 56.68 decimal degrees west longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes stretch from 57.43 decimal degrees north to minus 16.27 decimal degrees south, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes span minus 26.85 decimal degrees west and minus 81.08 decimal degrees west, respectively. Oceanus Procellarum's diameter measures 2,592.24 kilometers.

Hevelius Crater is centered at 2.20 decimal degrees north latitude, minus 67.46 west longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater records northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 4.07 decimal degrees north and 0.32 decimal degrees north, respectively. The western hemisphere crater registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes of minus 65.58 west and minus 69.34 west, respectively. Lunar near side crater Hevelius has a diameter of 113.87 kilometers.

Three satellites in the Hevelius Crater system occur as internal occupants of their parent's crater. The triangle formed by Hevelius satellites A, B and E roughly traverses half of the parental crater along a diagonal, southwest-to-northeast axis.

Floor-based Hevelius A nestles at its parent's fairly well defined northwestern inner wall. Hevelius B rests on its parent's degraded southwestern rim. Hevelius E opposes Hevelius A on its parent's irregular northeastern rim.

Hevelius A is centered at 2.85 decimal degrees north latitude, minus 68.23 degrees west longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 3.08 decimal degrees north and 2.62 decimal degrees north, respectively. The bowl-shaped satellite finds its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at minus 68.00 decimal degrees west and 68.46 decimal degrees west, respectively. Hevelius A's diameter of 14.01 kilometers qualifies it as the largest of the Hevelius Crater system's seven satellites.

Hevelius B is centered at 1.36 decimal degrees north latitude, minus 68.98 decimal degrees west longitude. It posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 1.58 decimal degrees north and 1.13 decimal degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes are listed as 68.75 decimal degrees west and 69.20 decimal degrees west, respectively. Hevelius B has a diameter of 13.50 kilometers.

Hevelius E is centered at 2.96 decimal degrees north latitude, minus 65.78 decimal degrees west longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes are found at 3.10 decimal degrees north and 2.81 decimal degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes are marked at minus 65.64 decimal degrees west and minus 65.93 decimal degrees west, respectively. Hevelius E's diameter of 8.81 kilometers ranks it as the smallest of the Hevelius Crater system's three internal satellites.

As the most easterly of the Hevelius Crater system's seven satellites, Hevelius D lies in southwestern Oceanus Procellarum. Hevelius D's location qualifies it as the only solitary satellite in the Hevelius Crater system.

Hevelius D is centered at 3.05 decimal degrees north latitude, minus 60.91 degrees west longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes are given as 3.18 decimal degrees north and 2.92 degrees north, respectively. It details its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at minus 60.78 decimal degrees west and minus 61.03 decimal degrees west, respectively. Hevelius D has a diameter of 7.76 kilometers.

Bowl-like Hevelius D is positioned conspicuously on an unnamed wrinkle ridge in the southern extension of dark Oceanus Procellarum's bright Reiner Gamma. As a lunar swirl, Reiner Gamma traces high-albedo, curvilinear shapes that contrast brightly with dark, low-albedo surrounding terrain.

Reiner Gamma is centered at 7.39 decimal degrees north latitude, minus 58.96 degrees west longitude. The bright lunar swirl records northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 7.91 decimal degrees north and 6.75 degrees north, respectively. It registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes of minus 57.65 degrees west and minus 60.05 degrees west, respectively. Reiner Gamma's diameter measures 73.44 kilometers.

The remaining three of the Hevelius Crater system's four external satellites hover in western proximity to their parent. Hevelius J, K and L sequence as a bent line. Hevelius L anchors the trio's most northerly position, while Hevelius J occupies the trio's most southerly position.

Hevelius J is centered at 0.80 decimal degrees north latitude, minus 69.90 decimal degrees west longitude. It places its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 1.02 decimal degrees north and 0.59 decimal degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes are logged at minus 69.68 degrees west and minus 70.12 degrees west, respectively. Hevelius J has a diameter of 13.13 kilometers.

Hevelius K is centered at 1.58 decimal degrees north latitude, minus 70.08 degrees west longitude. It obtains its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 1.68 decimal degrees north and 1.49 decimal degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes are identified as minus 69.99 decimal degrees west and minus 70.18 decimal degrees west, respectively. Hevelius K's diameter of 5.67 kilometers qualifies it as the smallest of the Hevelius Crater system's seven satellites.

Hevelius L is centered at 2.04 decimal degrees north latitude, minus 70.48 degrees west longitude. It specifies northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 2.16 decimal degrees north and 1.92 decimal degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes are set at minus 70.37 decimal degrees west and minus 70.59 decimal degrees west, respectively. Hevelius L's diameter measures 7.60 kilometers.

Thus, the adjacency of the three western external satellites to their parent's western half defines the geographic proximity that primarily characterizes the Hevelius Crater system. Only the eastern isolation of external satellite Hevelius D disconnects the Hevelius Crater system's terrain from Oceanus Procellarum's southwestern edge and establishes residence on a lunar swirl-illuminated wrinkle ridge within Oceanus Procellarum.

Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 55 shows three of the Hevelius Crater system's seven satellites; (bottom right corner) Hevelius J, K and L: 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:

Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 56 shows the Hevelius Crater system's parent and five of its seven satellites; (bottom left corner) Hevelius Crater with satellites A, B, E and J; (right center) Hevelius D: image credit NASA/GSFC/ASU, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://asc-planetarynames-data.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Lunar/lac_56_wac.pdf

Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 55 shows three of the Hevelius Crater system's seven satellites; (bottom right corner) Hevelius J, K and L: image credit NASA/GSFC/ASU, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://asc-planetarynames-data.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Lunar/lac_55_wac.pdf

For further information:

Elger, Thomas Gwyn. “HEVEL.--A great walled-plain, 71 miles in diameter, adjoining Lohrmann on the N., with a broad eastern rampart, rising at one peak to a height above the interior of nearly 6,000 feet, and presenting a steep bright face to the Oceanus Procellarum. There are three prominent craters near its crest, and one or two breaks in its continuity. It is not so lofty and is more broken on the W., where three conspicuous craters stand on its inner slope. The floor is slightly convex, and includes a triangular central mountain, on which there is a small crater. The S. half of the interior is crossed by four clefts: (l) running from a little crater N. of the central mountain, on the E. side of it, to a hill at the foot of the S.E. wall; (2) originating near the most southerly of the three craters on the inner slope of the W. wall, and crossing 1, terminates at the foot of the E. wall; (3) has the same origin as 2, crosses 1, and, passing over a craterlet E. of the central mountain, also runs up to the E. wall at a point considerably N. of that where 2 joins the latter; (4) runs from the craterlet just mentioned to the E. end of 2.” Page 88. The Moon: A Full Description and Map of Its Principal Physical Features: Second Quadrant East Longitude 60° to 90°, pages 87-91. London [England]: George Philip & Son, 1895.
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