Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Nine Craters Honor Phobos Finder's Wife and Eight Mars Scientists


Summary: Nine Phobian craters honor the Phobos finder and his first wife and Mars scientists D'Arrest, Opik, Roche, Sharpless, Shklovsky, Todd and Wendell.


albumen silver print photograph of Asaph Hall by American photographer Mathew B. Brady (1823?-Jan. 15, 1896), dated 1880, approximately three years after Hall's 1877 discoveries of Martian natural satellites Deimos and Phobos; National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC: CC0 Public Domain, via NPG SI

Nine Phobian craters honor Phobos finder Asaph Hall and his first wife, Angeline, and Mars-interested scientists Heinrich d'Arrest, Ernst Öpik, Édouard Roche, Bevan Sharpless, Iosif Shklovsky, David Todd and Oliver Wendell.
Hall Crater honors American astronomer Asaph Hall (Oct. 15, 1829-Nov. 22, 1917). In 1973 the IAU approved Hall as the crater's name. The astronomical name-approving nonprofit organization's XVth (25th) General Assembly was held in 1973 from Tuesday, Aug. 21, to Thursday, Aug. 30, in Sydney, New South Wales, southeastern Australia.
Hall Crater is centered at minus 80.00 degrees south latitude, 210.00 degrees west longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The southern hemisphere crater records northmost and southmost latitudes of minus 64.00 degrees south and minus 84.00 degrees south, respectively. It registers eastmost and westmost longitudes of 140.00 degrees west and 280.00 degrees west, respectively. Hall Crater's diameter measures 5.40 kilometers.
During his tenure as Professor of Mathematics, 1862-1891, at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington DC, Asaph Hall discovered the two natural satellites that orbit Mars. His discovery of Deimos occurred on Sunday, Aug. 12, 1877. He discovered Phobos on Saturday, Aug. 18, 1877.
Stickney Crater honors American mathematician Chloe Angeline Stickney (Nov. 1, 1830-July 3, 1892), Asaph Hall's first wife. The IAU officially adopted Stickney as the crater's name in 1973.
Stickney Crater is centered at 1.00 degrees north latitude, 49.00 degrees west longitude. Equator-straddling Stickney Crater extends almost equally into the Phobian northern and southern hemispheres, with northmost and southmost latitudes at 22.00 degrees north and minus 20.00 degrees south, respectively. It achieves eastmost and westmost longitudes of 28.00 degrees west and 70.00 degrees west, respectively. Stickney's diameter of 9.00 kilometers qualifies it as the largest crater on Phobos.
D'Arrest Crater memorializes French Huguenot German-Danish astronomer Heinrich Louis d'Arrest (Aug. 13, 1822-June 14, 1875). The IAU granted approval of D'Arrest as the crater's name in 1973.
D'Arrest Crater is centered at minus 39.00 degrees south latitude, 179.00 degrees west longitude. The southern hemisphere crater's northmost and southmost latitudes occur at minus 34.00 degrees south and minus 44.00 degrees south, respectively. It finds its eastmost and westmost longitudes at 174.00 degrees west and 184.00 degrees west, respectively. D'Arrest Crater has a diameter of 2.10 kilometers.
Öpik Crater is named after Estonian astronomer and astrophysicist Ernst Julius Öpik (Oct. 22 [Old Style O.S. Oct. 10] 1893-Sep. 10, 1985). Adoption of Öpik as the crater's name took place Thursday, July 28, 2011.
Öpik Crater is centered at minus 7.00 degrees south latitude, 297.00 degrees west longitude. The southern hemisphere crater marks its northmost and southmost latitudes at minus 2.00 degrees south and minus 12.00 degrees south, respectively. It obtains eastmost and westmost longitudes of 292.00 degrees west and 302.00 degrees west, respectively. Öpik Crater has a diameter of 2.00 kilometers.
Roche Crater commemorates French astronomer, celestial mechanics specialist, mathematician and meteorologist Édouard Albert Roche (Oct. 17, 1820-April 27, 1883). Roche Crater received IAU approval in 1973.

American astronomer and U.S. Naval Observatory Junior Astronomer (Jan. 16, 1929-Jan. 1, 1949) Bevan Percival Sharpless (Aug. 2, 1904-Oct. 28, 1950) discerned the decaying orbit of Phobos from observations of the Martian system's inner satellite made in 1939 and 1941 via the U.S. Naval Observatory's 40-inch telescope, which had been installed in 1934; coinvented by American optician and telescope maker George Willis Ritchey (Dec. 31, 1864-Nov. 4, 1945) and French astronomer and inventor Henri Jacques Chrétien (Feb. 1, 1879-Feb. 6, 1956), the still-in-use Ritchey-Chrétien telescope was relocated in 1955, due to light pollution in Washington DC, to the U.S. Naval Observatory's Flagstaff Station: P. Shankland, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Roche Crater is centered at 53.00 degrees north latitude, 183.00 degrees west longitude. The northern hemisphere crater posts northmost and southmost latitudes of 60.00 degrees north and 46.00 degrees north, respectively. It defines its eastmost and westmost longitudes at 172.00 degrees west and 194.00 degrees west, respectively. Roche Crater's diameter measures 2.30 kilometers.
Sharpless Crater namesakes American astronomer Bevan Percival Sharpless (Aug. 2, 1904-Oct. 28, 1950). The IAU officially adopted Sharpless as the crater's name in 1973.
Sharpless Crater is centered at minus 27.50 degrees south latitude, 154.00 degrees west longitude. The southern hemisphere crater establishes northmost and southmost latitudes at minus 23.00 degrees south and minus 32.00 degrees south, respectively. Its eastmost and westmost longitudes run from 149.00 degrees west to 159.00 degrees west, respectively. Sharpless Crater has a diameter of 1.80 kilometers.
Shklovsky Crater is named after Jewish Ukrainian radio astronomer and theoretical astrophysicist Iosif Samuilovich Shklovsky (July 1, 1916-March 3, 1985). Shklovsky Crater received IAU approval on Thursday, July 28, 2011.
Shklovsky Crater is centered at 24.00 degrees north latitude, 248.00 degrees west longitude. The northern hemisphere crater reveals northmost and southmost latitudes of 29.00 degrees north and 19.00 degrees north, respectively. Its eastmost and westmost longitudes are reported at 242.00 degrees west and 254.00 degrees west, respectively. Shklovsky Crater's diameter measures 2.00 kilometers.
Todd Crater remembers David Peck Todd (March 19, 1855-June 1, 1939), American astronomer and producer of complete set of photographs of the 1882 transit of Venus. The IAU officially adopted Todd as the crater's name in 1973.
Todd Crater is centered at minus 9.00 degrees south latitude, 153.00 degrees west longitude. The southern hemisphere crater perimeterizes its northmost and southmost latitudes at minus 3.00 degrees south and minus 15.00 degrees south, respectively. Its eastmost and westmost longitudes reach 147.00 degrees west and 159.00 degrees west, respectively. Todd Crater has a diameter of 2.60 kilometers.
Wendell Crater recognizes Oliver Clinton Wendell (May 7, 1845-Nov. 5, 1912), American astronomer and photometric measurer of the satellites of Jupiter, the satellites of Mars and variable stars. The IAU approved Wendell as the crater's name in 1973.
Wendell Crater is centered at minus 1.00 degrees south latitude, 132 degrees west longitude. The equator-straddling crater extends its northmost and southmost latitudes at 3.00 degrees north and minus 5.00 degrees south, respectively. Its eastmost and westmost longitudes touch 128.00 degrees west and 136.00 degrees west, respectively. Wendell Crater's diameter measures 1.70 kilometers.
Two approval dates exist for the nine Phobian craters named for Mars-interested scientists. Craters D'Arrest, Hall, Roche, Sharpless, Stickney, Todd and Wendell comprise the group of seven approved in 1973 during the IAU's XVth General Assembly. Craters Öpik and Shklovsky share Thursday, July 28, 2011, as their adoption date.

Observations of the satellites of Mars were made by American astronomer and fourth Harvard College Observatory (HCO) Director (1877-1919) Edward Charles Pickering (July 19, 1846-Feb. 3, 1919) and Harvard College Observatory Assistant (1879; Assistant Professor, 1898-1912) Oliver Clinton Wendell (May 7, 1845-Nov. 5, 1912) via a photometer attached to the 15-inch equatorial telescope, installed in 1847, in Harvard College Observatory, as described by Pickering in "Photometric observations of the satellites of Mars, made at the Harvard College Observatory, 1881-1882," published in Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 2437 (pages 193-196), in 1882; "The Cambridge U.S. Equatoreal," Plate II, "B.F. Nutting, del. Lith. of A. Sonrel, Cambridge, Mass., A. Sonrel on stone," drawn by Boston, Massachusetts-based American artist Benjamin Franklin Nutting (ca. 1803-1887) (delineavit, "B.F. Nutting drew"), lithograph by Boston, Massachusetts-based Swiss-American engraver, photographer and scientific illustrator Antoine Sorel (1804-1879): Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library

Acknowledgment
My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication
This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:
albumen silver print photograph of Asaph Hall by American photographer Mathew B. Brady (1823?-Jan. 15, 1896), dated 1880, approximately three years after Hall's 1877 discoveries of Martian natural satellites Deimos and Phobos; National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC: CC0 Public Domain, via NPG SI @ https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.77.183
American astronomer and U.S. Naval Observatory Junior Astronomer (Jan. 16, 1929-Jan. 1, 1949) Bevan Percival Sharpless (Aug. 2, 1904-Oct. 28, 1950) discerned the decaying orbit of Phobos from observations of the Martian system's inner satellite made in 1939 and 1941 via the U.S. Naval Observatory's 40-inch telescope, which had been installed in 1934; coinvented by American optician and telescope maker George Willis Ritchey (Dec. 31, 1864-Nov. 4, 1945) and French astronomer and inventor Henri Jacques Chrétien (Feb. 1, 1879-Feb. 6, 1956), the still-in-use Ritchey-Chrétien telescope was relocated in 1955, due to light pollution in Washington DC, to the U.S. Naval Observatory's Flagstaff Station: P. Shankland, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NOFS_40inch03.jpg
Observations of the satellites of Mars were made by American astronomer and fourth Harvard College Observatory (HCO) Director (1877-1919) Edward Charles Pickering (July 19, 1846-Feb. 3, 1919) and Harvard College Observatory Assistant (1879; Assistant Professor, 1898-1912) Oliver Clinton Wendell (May 7, 1845-Nov. 5, 1912) via a photometer attached to the 15-inch equatorial telescope, installed in 1847, in Harvard College Observatory, as described by Pickering in "Photometric observations of the satellites of Mars, made at the Harvard College Observatory, 1881-1882," published in Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 2437 (pages 193-196), in 1882; "The Cambridge U.S. Equatoreal," Plate II, "B.F. Nutting, del. Lith. of A. Sonrel, Cambridge, Mass., A. Sonrel on stone," drawn by Boston, Massachusetts-based American artist Benjamin Franklin Nutting (ca. 1803-1887) (delineavit, "B.F. Nutting drew"), lithograph by Boston, Massachusetts-based Swiss-American engraver, photographer and scientific illustrator Antoine Sorel (1804-1879): Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14225974

For further information:
Boussinesq, J. (Joseph Valentin). "Notice sur la vie et les travaux de M. Édouard Roche, professeur à la Faculté des sciences de Montpellier, correspondant de l'Institut, membre associé de la Société des sciences de Lille." Pages 17-35. Mémoires de aa Société des Sciences de l'agriculture et des Arts de Lille. 4e série. -- Tome XIV. Lille: L. Quarré, Libraire, 1885.
Available via BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France) Gallica @ https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k58117762/f19.image.r
Contopoulos, G. (George); and A. (Arnost) Jappel, eds. XVth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. XV B Proceedings of the 15th General Assembly and Extraordinary General Assembly, Sydney, Australia, August 24-30, 1973. Washington DC: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Jan. 1, 1974.
Available via IAU @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/
Available via The Moon Wiki @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/IAU_Transactions_XVB
Hellweg, J.F., Captain. "The Naval Observatory's New Telescope." Proceedings Vol. 61/1/383. January 1935.
Available @ https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1935/january/naval-observatorys-new-telescope
International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “D'Arrest.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mars System > Phobos. Last updated Nov 29, 2006 7:45 AM.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/1696
International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Hall.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Nov 29, 2006 7:47 AM.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2328
International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Öpik.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mars System > Phobos. Last updated Jul 28, 2011 8:08 AM.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14865
International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Roche.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Nov 29, 2006 7:48 AM.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5167
International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Sharpless.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Nov 29, 2006 7:50 AM.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5474
International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Shklovsky.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mars System > Phobos. Last updated Jul 28, 2011 8:11 AM.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14866
International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Stickney.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Nov 29, 2006 7:51 AM.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5707
International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Todd.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mars System > Phobos. Last updated Nov 29, 2006 7:52 AM.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/6042
International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Wendell.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Nov 29, 2006 7:53 AM.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/6518
Marriner, Derdriu. "Eight Phobian Craters Are Named for Characters in Gulliver's Travels." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024.
Available @
Marriner, Derdriu. "Gravity May Reshape Innermost Martian Moonlet Phobos Into Rocky Ring." Earth and Space News. Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/gravity-may-reshape-innermost-martian.html
Marriner, Derdriu. "Johannes Kepler and Gulliver Places Name Phobian Plain, Region, Ridge." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024.
Available @
Marriner, Derdriu. "Martian Satellite Deimos Has Two Craters Named Swift and Voltaire." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/10/martian-satellite-deimos-has-two.html
Marriner, Derdriu. "NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Imaged Phobos Orbiting Mars May 12, 2016." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, May 20, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/05/nasas-hubble-space-telescope-imaged.html
Marriner, Derdriu. "Stickney Crater Honors Phobos Discoverer Asaph Hall’s First Wife." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, July 3, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/07/stickney-crater-honors-phobos.html
Mason, Brian D. "U.S. Naval Observatory's great refractor turns 150 years old." Astronomy February 2023 issue > Science. Published Feb. 7, 2023.
Available @ https://www.astronomy.com/science/u-s-naval-observatorys-great-refractor-turns-150-years-old/
Parsons, Alex; Inkleby. "D'Arrest (Phobos) Named after Heinrich L. D'Arrest -- German/Danish astronomer (1822-1875)." We Name the Stars > Phobos > Feature Type: All Features > Features Associated With Phobos: Crater D'Arrest.
Available via We Name the Stars @ https://wenamethestars.inkleby.com/feature/1696
Parsons, Alex; Inkleby. "Hall (Phobos) Named after Asaph Hall -- American astronomer, discoverer of Phobos and Deimos (1829-1907)." We Name the Stars > Phobos > Feature Type: All Features > Features Associated With Phobos: Crater Hall.
Available via We Name the Stars @ https://wenamethestars.inkleby.com/feature/2328
Parsons, Alex; Inkleby. "Öpik (Phobos) Ernst J., Estonian astronomer (1893-1985)." We Name the Stars > Phobos > Feature Type: All Features > Features Associated With Phobos: Crater Öpik.
Available via We Name the Stars @ https://wenamethestars.inkleby.com/feature/14865
Parsons, Alex; Inkleby. "Roche (Phobos) Named after Edouard Roche -- French astronomer (1820-1883)." We Name the Stars > Phobos > Feature Type: All Features > Features Associated With Phobos: Crater Roche.
Available via We Name the Stars @ https://wenamethestars.inkleby.com/feature/5167
Parsons, Alex; Inkleby. "Sharpless (Phobos) Named after Bevan P. Sharpless -- American astronomer (1904-1950)." We Name the Stars > Phobos > Feature Type: All Features > Features Associated With Phobos: Crater Sharpless.
Available via We Name the Stars @ https://wenamethestars.inkleby.com/feature/5474
Parsons, Alex; Inkleby. "Shklovsky (Phobos) Iosif S., Soviet astronomer (1916-1985)." We Name the Stars > Phobos > Feature Type: All Features > Features Associated With Phobos: Crater Shklovsky.
Available via We Name the Stars @ https://wenamethestars.inkleby.com/feature/14866
Parsons, Alex; Inkleby. "Stickney (Phobos) Named after Angeline Stickney -- wife of American astronomer A. Hall (1830-1892)." We Name the Stars > Phobos > Feature Type: All Features > Features Associated With Phobos: Crater Stickney.
Available via We Name the Stars @ https://wenamethestars.inkleby.com/feature/5707
Parsons, Alex; Inkleby. "Todd (Phobos) Named after David Todd -- American astronomer (1855-1939)." We Name the Stars > Phobos > Feature Type: All Features > Features Associated With Phobos: Crater Todd.
Available via We Name the Stars @ https://wenamethestars.inkleby.com/feature/6042
Parsons, Alex; Inkleby. "Wendell (Phobos) Named after Oliver C. Wendell -- American astronomer (1845-1912)." We Name the Stars > Phobos > Feature Type: All Features > Features Associated With Phobos: Crater Wendell.
Available via We Name the Stars @ https://wenamethestars.inkleby.com/feature/6518
Pickering, Edward C. (Charles). "Oliver Clinton Wendell." Popular Astronomy, vol. XXI, no. 21; whole number 201 (January 1913): 24-25.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1913PA.....21...24P/abstract
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1913PA.....21...24P
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1913PA.....21...24P
Pickering, Edward C. (Charles). "Photometric Observations of the Satellites of Mars, made at the Harvard Observatory, 1881-1882." Astronomische Nachrichten, Hundert und zweiter Band [vol. 102], issue 113, no. 2437 (1882): 193-196.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1882AN....102..193P
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ https://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1882AN....102..193P
Available via HathiTrust @ https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101045556667&seq=323
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/njp.32101045556667?urlappend=%3Bseq=323%3Bownerid=27021597769246436-375
Sharpless, Bevan P. "Secular Accelerations in the Longitudes of the Satellites of Mars." The Astronomical Journal, vol. 51, number 7 (November 1945 -- No. 1155): 185-186.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1945AJ.....51..185S/abstract
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/seri/AJ.../0051//0000185.000.html
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1945AJ.....51..185S
Winsor, Justin, ed. "Oliver Clinton Wendell . . . . 3. Photometric observations of the satellites of Mars, 1881-1882. [E.C. Pickering and O.C. Wendell, observers.] Astronomische Nachrichten, cii. 198." Page 59. Bibliographical Contributions: A List of the Publications of Harvard University and Its Officers, With the Chief Publications on the University, 1880-1885, no. 21. Cambridge MA: Issued by The Library of Harvard University, 1886.
Available via Google Books Read for Free @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bibliographical_Contributions/dtE-AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=oliver+clinton+wendell+astronomer+mars&pg=PA59


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