Gusev Crater in Southern Mars Honors Russian Astronomer Matvey Gusev

Summary: Gusev Crater, a large impact crater sited in the Martian southern hemisphere's Aeolis quadrangle, honors 19th-century Russian astronomer Matvey Gusev.

Panoramic mosaic of western Martian sky obtained, at approximate distance of 50 miles (80 kilometers), via Panoramic Camera's (Pancam) 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer color filters on rover Spirit's 489th Martian day (sol 489), Thursday, May 19, 2005, around 6:07 p.m., captures sunset at rim of Martian southern hemisphere's Gusev Crater, with rocky outcrop named Jibsheet in foreground: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal

Gusev Crater, which occurs as a large impact crater in the Martian southern hemisphere's Aeolis quadrangle, honors 19th-century Russian astronomer Matvey Gusev.

Gusev Crater occupies the Martian southern hemisphere's Aeolis quadrangle, designated by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) as MC-23 (Mars Chart 23). The USGS has divided the surface of Mars into 30 cartographic quadrangles. The Mars Global Surveyor's (MGS) Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) produced the precise topographic maps, which comprehensively portray the Martian surface from the south polar ice cap to the north polar ice cap. Gusev Crater is located in the Aeolis quadrangle's southeastern quadrant.

Gusev Crater is centered at minus 14.53 degrees south latitude, 175.52 degrees west longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The impact crater defines its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 13.20 degrees south and minus 15.86 degrees south, respectively. It demarcates its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 176.91 degrees east and 174.15 degrees east, respectively. Gusev Crater's diameter spans 158.12 kilometers.

Galdakao Crater nudges Gusev Crater's northeastern rim. It is centered at minus 13.34 degrees south, 176.63 degrees east. It arrives at its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 13.06 degrees south and minus 13.62 degrees south, respectively. It parameterizes its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 176.92 degrees east and 176.34 degrees east, respectively. Galdakao Crater's diameter measures 33.44 kilometers.

Apollinaris Mons lies to the north as Gusev Crater's largest, nearest, named, craterous northern neighbor. It occurs as a southern hemisphere "volcanic construct" inhabiting "the transition zone between the northern lowlands and southern highlands" (Figure 1, page 386), as described by Planetary Science Institute (PSI) senior research associate Frank C. Chuang and PSI senior scientists David A. Crown and Daniel C. Berman in "Geology of the northeastern flank of Apollinaris Mons, Mars: Constraints on the erosional history from morphology, topography, and crater populations," published in the Nov. 15, 2019, issue of Icarus.

Apollinaris Mons is centered at minus 9.17 degrees south latitude, 174.79 degrees east longitude. The volcano's northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to minus 6.88 degrees south and minus 11.47 degrees south, respectively. Its easternment and westernmost longitudes stretch from 176.40 degrees east to 172.66 degrees east, respectively. Apollinaris Mons has a diameter of 275.40 kilometers.

Apollinaris Patera designates the caldera that formed with the emptying of the underground magma chamber in Apollinaris Mons. Patera defines as "An irregular crater, or a complex one with scalloped edges," according to the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature's list of Descriptor Terms (Feature Types).

Apollinaris Patera is centered at minus 8.57 degrees south, 174.18 degrees east. The caldera finds its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 7.92 degrees south and minus 9.22 degrees south, respectively. It obtains its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 174.91 degrees east and 173.43 degrees east, respectively. Apollinaris Pateria's diameter measures 80.60 kilometers.

Gusev Crater, which occurs as a large impact crater in the Martian southern hemisphere, honors 19th-century Russian astronomer Matvey Gusev, hosts the landing site for Mars robotic rover Spirit and contains the Apollo 1 Hills and the Columbia Hills; Detail from Aeolis, MC-23, shows Gusev Crater with northward-flowing Ma'adim Vallis debouching to Gusev's southern rim; Base image: THEMIS IR Day mosaic by USGS, ASU Margin image: THEMIS IR Global Mosac v11.6, ASU Colorized Topography: MOLA Elevation Model, GSFC Date of Last Nomenclature Update: Nov. 9, 2022: via IAU (International Astronomical Union) and USGS ASC (U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center)

De Vaucouleurs Crater is sited to the west as Gusev Crater's largest, nearest, named, craterous western neighbor. The "huge" crater's "mix of features" includes some "chaotic terrain," as described in NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Photojournal post, "PIA23905: de Vaucouleurs Crater."

De Vaucouleurs Crater is centered at minus 13.31 degrees south, 171.00 degrees east. The huge crater registers its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 10.78 degrees south and minus 15.88 degrees south, respectively. It records its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 173.62 degrees east and 168.38 degrees east, respectively. De Vaucouleurs Crater's diameter spans 302.27 kilometers.

Kayne Crater resides to the west of southwestern Gusev Crater. It is centered at minus 15.50 degrees south, 173.56 degrees east. Kayne Crater expresses its northernmost and southernmost latitudes as minus 15.21 degrees south and minus 15.78 degrees south, respectively. It pinpoints its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 173.86 degrees east and 173.27 degrees east, respectively. Kayne Crater has a diameter of 33.82 kilometers.

The International Astronomical Union formally approved Gusev Crater's name in 1976 during the organization’s XVIth (16th) General Assembly, which was held Tuesday, Aug. 24, to Tuesday, Sept. 21, in Grenoble, France. The crater honors 19th-century Russian astronomer Matvey Matveyevich Gusev (Russian: Матве́й Матве́евич Гу́сев; Nov. 28 [O.S. Nov. 16], 1826-April 22 [O.S. April 10], 1866). Gusev was associated with Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory (Russian: Пулковская астрономическая обсерватория, Pulkovskaya astronomicheskaya observatoriya), located on Pulkovo Heights (Russian: Пу́лковские высо́ты) south of Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербург), northwestern Russia. He relocated to Vilnius University Astronomical Observatory (Lithuanian: Vilniaus universiteto astronomijos observatorija ) in southeastern Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva; Russian: Литва, Litva) in 1852.

Gusev served twice as interim director at Vilnius Observavtory. His first interim directorship occurred in 1854, in the transition between Russian astronomer Georg Albert Fuss's (1806--1854) directorship (1847 to 1854) and Russian astronomer Georg Sabler's (April 18, 1810-1865) directorship (1854 to 1865). Gusev's second interim directorship occurred in 1865 to 1866, in the transition to Sabler's successor, Russian astronomer and geodesist Pjotr Smyslow's (1827--1891), directors from 1866 to 1882, according to "Outstanding Astronomical Heritage: Vilnius observatory, Lithuania," posted on UNESCO's Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative's Portal to the Heritage of Astronomy.

Gusev's achievements include founding the first mathematics- and physics-based journal in Russia. He started the Bulletin of Mathematical Sciences (Russian: Вестник математических наук, Vestnik matematicheskikh nauk) in 1860.

Proving the non-sphericity of the lunar orbit around Earth in 1860 in "О состоянии Луны" ("On the State of the Moon") numbers among his astronomical firsts. His photographs of the moon, the sun and sunspots qualify him as a pioneer in the application of photography to astronomy.

undated portrait of 19th-century Russian astronomer Matvey Gusev, eponym of the Martian southern hemisphere's Gusev Crater: 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:

Panoramic mosaic of western Martian sky obtained, at approximate distance of 50 miles (80 kilometers), via Panoramic Camera's (Pancam) 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer color filters on rover Spirit's 489th Martian day (sol 489), Thursday, May 19, 2005, around 6:07 p.m., captures sunset at rim of Martian southern hemisphere's Gusev Crater, with rocky outcrop named Jibsheet in foreground: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/pia07997

Gusev Crater, which occurs as a large impact crater in the Martian southern hemisphere, honors 19th-century Russian astronomer Matvey Gusev, hosts the landing site for Mars robotic rover Spirit and contains the Apollo 1 Hills and the Columbia Hills; Detail from Aeolis, MC-23, shows Gusev Crater with northward-flowing Ma'adim Vallis debouching to Gusev's southern rim; Base image: THEMIS IR Day mosaic by USGS, ASU Margin image: THEMIS IR Global Mosac v11.6, ASU Colorized Topography: MOLA Elevation Model, GSFC Date of Last Nomenclature Update: Nov. 9, 2022: via IAU (International Astronomical Union) and USGS ASC (U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center) @ https://asc-planetarynames-data.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/mc23_2014.pdf

undated portrait of 19th-century Russian astronomer Matvey Gusev, eponym of the Martian southern hemisphere's Gusev Crater: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaizdas:Matvejus_Gusevas.jpeg

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