Earth and Space News: far side northwest quadrant craters

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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Wiener Crater Parents Four Satellites on Lunar Far Side

Summary: Wiener Crater parents four satellites on the lunar far side, north of the northwestern quadrant’s Mare Moscoviense.

Detail of Lunar Astronautical Charts (LAC) 31 shows Wiener Crater, with its four satellites (F, H, K, Q) and its craters’ nearest named neighbors, on the lunar far side; courtesy NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) / GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) / ASU (Arizona State University): U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Wiener Crater parents four satellites on the lunar far side, north of Mare Moscoviense (Sea of Muscovy) in the northwestern quadrant.

The primary crater is centered at 40.9 degrees north latitude, 146.51 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 42.77 degrees north and 39.03 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 148.99 degrees east and 144.04 degrees east, respectively. Wiener Crater has a diameter of 113.39 kilometers.

The Wiener Crater system comprises four satellites. Three satellites (F, K, Q) are in contact with their parent. Although Wiener H shares no borders with its parent, it adjoins Wiener K.

Wiener F occurs as the most easterly of the Wiener Crater system’s four satellites. The tilted crater resides on its parent’s eastern rim.

Wiener F is centered at 41.19 degrees north latitude, 149.97 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 41.96 degrees north and 40.43 degrees north, respectively. It obtains easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 150.82 degrees east and 149.11 degrees east, respectively. Wiener F's diameter measures 44.92 kilometers.

Wiener H lies to the south of Wiener F and to the east of its parent. H is the only one of the Wiener Crater system’s four satellites that does not make contact with its parent. Instead, Wiener H intrudes into Wiener K.

Wiener H is centered at 39.72 degrees north latitude, 149.88 degrees east longitude. H confines its northernmost and southernmost latitudes to 40.01 degrees north and 39.43 degrees north, respectively. It finds easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 150.26 degrees east and 149.5 degrees east, respectively. Wiener H’s diameter of 17.74 kilometers qualifies it as the smallest of the Wiener Crater system’s four satellites.

Wiener K’s placement along its parent’s south-southeastern rim qualifies it as the Wiener Crater system’s most southerly satellite. About half of K underlies its parent’s rim.

Wiener K is centered at 39.26 degrees north latitude, 147.96 degrees east longitude. The worn satellite marks northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 40.82 degrees north and 37.7 degrees north, respectively. It posts easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 149.97 degrees east and 145.94 degrees east, respectively. Wiener K’s diameter of 94.51 kilometers qualifies it as the largest of the Wiener Crater system’s four satellites.

Wiener Q snuggles along its parent’s southwestern rim. Its placement qualifies it as the most westerly of the Wiener Crater system’s four satellites.

Wiener Q is centered at 39.27 degrees north latitude, 144.97 degrees east longitude. It records northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 39.75 degrees north and 38.79 degrees north, respectively. Q registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 145.56 degrees east and 144.37 degrees east, respectively. Wiener Q has a diameter of 30.74 kilometers.

The middle-latitude Wiener Crater system resides near the northern edges of Mare Moscoviense (Sea of Muscovy). Mare Moscoviense numbers among “. . . the few maria found on the lunar far side,” according to the June 15, 2010, posting about Mare Moscoviense on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA)’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission webpages. “Although there are just as many impact basins on the lunar far side as the near, the extensive lunar volcanism seen on the near side is lacking on the far side of the Moon,” the post explains. (The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been orbiting the moon since June 23, 2009.)

Mare Moscoviense is centered at 27.28 degrees north latitude, 148.12 degrees east longitude. The dark, basaltic plain’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes stretch to 31.5 degrees north and 22.95 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at 153.26 degrees east and 143.41 degrees east, respectively. Mare Moscoviense’s length spans 275.57 kilometers.

The takeaways for Wiener Crater’s parentage of four satellites on the lunar far side are that three satellites (F, K, Q) make contact with their parent; that Wiener H, the smallest of the Wiener Crater system’s four satellites, only touches Wiener K; and that the Wiener Crater system lies near the northern edges of Mare Moscoviense (Sea of Muscovy), which numbers as one of only a few far side maria.

Detail of oblique, westward view, obtained in 1967 by Lunar 5 mission, shows Wiener F Crater; vertical rows in center are blemishes on original images; NASA IDs 5103 H2, 5103 H3: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), 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:

Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Grego, Peter. The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. London UK: Springer-Verlag, 2005.

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Campbell.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/990

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Kurchatov.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3165

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Mare Moscoviense.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3682

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Von Neumann.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/6442

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Wiener.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/6544

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Wiener F.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/13891

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Wiener H.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/13892

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Wiener K.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/13893

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Wiener Q.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/13894

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Target: The Moon.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/MOON/target

Jenner, Lynn, page ed. “Mare Moscoviense.” NASA > Mission Pages > Lunar Renaissance Orbiter (LRO) > Multimedia. June 15, 2010.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/lola-20100615_moscoviense.html

Levy, David H. Skywatching. Revised and updated. San Francisco CA: Fog City Press, 1994.

Marriner, Derdriu. “Wiener Crater Honors American Mathematician Norbert Wiener.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, March 27, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/03/wiener-crater-honors-american.html

The Moon Wiki. “Campbell.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > C Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Campbell

The Moon Wiki. “IAU Directions.” The Moon.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/IAU_directions

The Moon Wiki. “Kurchatov.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > K Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Kurchatov

The Moon Wiki. “Mare Moscoviense.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > M Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Mare_Moscoviense

The Moon Wiki. “Von Neumann.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > V Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Von_Neumann

The Moon Wiki. “Wiener.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > W Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Wiener

Moore, Patrick, Sir. Philip’s Atlas of the Universe. Revised edition. London UK: Philip’s, 2005.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Wiener Crater Honors American Mathematician Norbert Wiener

Summary: The lunar far side’s Wiener Crater honors American mathematician Norbert Wiener, whose contributions include extensively theorizing cybernetics.

Detail of oblique, westward view, obtained in 1967 by Lunar 5 mission, shows lunar far side's Wiener Crater; NASA ID 5124: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons

The lunar far side’s Wiener Crater honors American mathematician Norbert Wiener, who is credited with extensively theorizing cybernetics as a transdisciplinary study of communication and control in interrelationships among animals, humans and machines.

Wiener Crater is a lunar impact crater in the far side’s northwestern quadrant. The crater’s interior floor hosts a central peak structure comprising a cluster of small ridges. Small craterlets pock the interior floor.

Wiener Crater is centered at 40.9 degrees north latitude, 146.51 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 42.77 degrees north and 39.03 degrees north, respectively. The middle latitude crater records easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 148.99 degrees east and 144.04 degrees east, respectively. Wiener Crater’s diameter measures 113.39 kilometers.

Wiener Crater parents four satellites. Three satellites (F, K, Q) touch their parent. Wiener H associates with Wiener K.

Pawsey Crater is Wiener Crater’s nearest named, non-Wiener Crater system neighbor. The worn crater resides as Wiener Crater’s north-northwestern neighbor and buddies with its neighbor’s northern outer ramparts.

Pawsey is centered at 44.24 degrees south latitude, 145.29 degrees east longitude. It obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 45.23 degrees north and 43.25 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at 146.67 degrees east and 143.91 degrees east, respectively. Pawsey Crater has a diameter of 59.98 kilometers.

The Wiener Crater system honors American mathematician Norbert Wiener (Nov. 26, 1894-March 18, 1964). The International Astronomical Union approved Wiener as the primary crater’s official name in 1970 during the organization’s XIVth (14th) General Assembly, held Friday, Aug. 14, to Thursday, Aug. 20, in Brighton, United Kingdom. Prior to its official naming, Wiener was designated as Crater 56. The system’s three satellites received their official designations in 2006.

In his biography of Norbert Wiener, published in the 1992 issue of the National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs, American mathematician and quantum mechanics theorist Irving Ezra Segal (Sept. 13, 1918-Aug. 30, 1998) recognized Wiener as one of the 20th century’s “most original mathematicians and influential scientists” (page 389). Segal acknowledged the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor’s unified approach, in which Wiener found applications for his mathematical investigations in other fields, such as biology and engineering.

Wiener’s formulation of cybernetics represented the pure and applied mathematical theorist’s ultimate synthesis of a multiplicity of disciplines, including biology, computer science, engineering, mathematics, neuroscience, philosophy, physiology, psychology and sociology. He introduced cybernetics as a neologism (Ancient Greek: νέος, néos, “new” + λόγος, lógos, “word”) in Cybernetics; Or, Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine, which he published via the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press in 1948.

In an article in the November 1948 issue of Scientific American, Wiener briefly explained the new field introduced in his 1948 publication. He derived his new English word from the Greek word for “steersman” (κῠβερνήτης, kubernḗtēs).

Wiener also noted the corruption of the Greek word into Latin as gubernator, translated into English as helmsman, pilot, leader or governor. He explained the lengthy use of governor as the designation for certain velocity control mechanisms and specifically referenced the “brilliant study,” entitled On Governors, published in 1868 by Scottish mathematical physicist James Clerk Maxwell (June 13, 1831-Nov. 5, 1879).

Wiener described the new field of cybernetics as a combination of the human context’s thinking with engineering’s control and communication. He identified the new field aims as discerning the functional commonalities in the human nervous system and automatic machines and theorizing, in entirety, control and communications in living organisms and machines.

Wiener traced the roots of his involvement in the new field to a collaboration during World War II (Sept 1, 1939-Sept. 2, 1945) with American computer pioneer Julian Himely Bigelow (March 19, 1913-Feb. 17, 2003) and Mexican physician Arturo Rosenblueth Stearns (Dec. 2, 1900-Sept. 20, 1970). The trio realized the importance of feedback in voluntary activities while theorizing a prediction outcome for the future position of a tracked airplane via a fire-control apparatus for anti-aircraft artillery. Their analyses revealed the criticality of applying the feedback principle to the gun’s and plane’s human operators as well as to the apparatus in order to achieve the problem’s solution.

The takeaways for Wiener Crater, which honors American mathematician Norbert Wiener, are that the impact crater occupies the lunar far side’s northwestern quadrant; that Wiener Crater parents four satellites; and that the lunar crater’s namesake is credited with extensively theorizing cybernetics as the transdisciplinary study of communication and control in living organisms and machines.

Detail of Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography Map shows Wiener Crater on the moon’s far side: U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, 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 oblique, westward view, obtained in 1967 by Lunar 5 mission, shows lunar far side's Wiener Crater; NASA ID 5124: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Richardson_crater_AS14-71-9852.jpg

Ampère, André-Marie. “3. Cybernétique.” Essai Sur la Philosophie des Sciences, ou, Exposition Analytique d’Une Classification Naturelle de Toutes les Connaissances Humaines. Seconde Partie: 140-141. Paris [France]: Bachelier, 1843.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.31970009258499?urlappend=%3Bseq=238

Andersson, Leif E.; and Ewen A. Whitaker. NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA Reference Publication 1097. Washington DC: NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scientific and Technical Information Branch, October 1982.
Available via NASA NTRS (NASA Technical Reports Server) @ https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19830003761.pdf

Bowker, David E.; and J. Kenrick Hughes. “Photo No. IV-139-H1 Plate 84.” Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon. Prepared by Langley Research Center. NASA SP-206. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scientific and Technical Information Office, Jan. 1, 1971.
Available via NASA NTRS (NASA Technical Reports Server) @ http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19730005152
Available via Universities Space Research Association’s (USRA) Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunar_orbiter/book/lopam.pdf

Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

de Jager, C. (Cornelis); and A. (Arnost) Jappel, eds. XIVth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. XIV B Proceedings of the 14th General Assembly Brighton, United Kingdom, August 18-27, 1970. Washington DC: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Jan. 1, 1971.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

Galison, Peter. “The Ontology of the Enemy: Norbert Wiener and the Cybernetic Vision.” Critical Inquiry, vol. 21, no. 1 (Autumn 1994): 228-266.
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/1343893

Grego, Peter. The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. London UK: Springer-Verlag, 2005.

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Pawsey.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/4622

Johnson, Barnabas D. “Skill in navigation [αρετης κυβερνητικης, aretes kybernetikes].” The Cybernetics of Society: The Governance of Self and Civilization.
Available via Jurlandia @ https://jurlandia.org/cybsoc/

Levy, David H. Skywatching. Revised and updated. San Francisco CA: Fog City Press, 1994.

Marriner, Derdriu. “Maxwell Crater Honors Scottish Mathematical Physicist James Maxwell.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, June 13, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/06/maxwell-crater-honors-scottish.html

Maxwell, James Clerk. “I. On Governors.” Proceedings of The Royal Society of London. From June 6, 1867, to June 18, 1868, inclusive. Vol. XVI (March 5, 1868): 270-283. London, England: Taylor and Francis, MDCCCLXVIII (1868).
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b4840418?urlappend=%3Bseq=288
Available via The Royal Society Publishing @ https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspl.1867.0055

The Moon Wiki. “IAU Directions.” The Moon.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/IAU_directions

The Moon Wiki. “Pawsey.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > P Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Pawsey

The Moon Wiki. “Wiener.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > W Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Wiener

Moore, Patrick, Sir. Philip’s Atlas of the Universe. Revised edition. London UK: Philip’s, 2005.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and Department of Defense Aeronautical Chart and Information Center. Lunar Farside Chart LFC-1. Second edition. October 1967.
Available @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/LunarFarsideCharts/LFC-1%201stEd/LFC-1%202ndEd/LFC-1A/

Plato. “Skill in navigation.” Alcibiades I: 135. In: B. (Benjamin) Jowett, The Dialogues of Plato. Translated Into English With Analyses and Introductions. New York NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1911.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/umn.319510020291569?urlappend=%3Bseq=570

Rosenblueth, Arturo; Norbert Wiener; and Julian Bigelow. “Behavior, Purpose and Teleology.” Philosophy of Science, vol. 10, no. 1 (January 1943): 18-24.
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/i209604

Segal, Irving Ezra. “Norbert Wiener November 26, 1894-March 18, 1964.” National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs, vol. 61 (1992): 389-437.
Available via The National Academies Press @ https://www.nap.edu/read/2037/chapter/18#389

van der Hucht, Karel A., ed. XXVIth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. XVII B Proceedings of the 26th General Assembly Prague, Czech Republic, August 14-25, 2006. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press, Dec. 30, 2008.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

Wiener, Norbert. “Cybernetics.” Scientific American, vol. 179, no. 5 (November 1948): 14-19.
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/24945913

Wiener, Norbert. Cybernetics; Or, Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. Cambridge MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 1948.

Wiener, Norbert. The Human Use of Human Beings; Cybernetics and Society. Boston MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1950.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Giordano Bruno Crater Honors Italian Cosmologist Giordano Bruno

Summary: Giordano Bruno Crater honors Italian cosmologist Giordano Bruno, whose contributions included affirming the sun-centered universe of Copernicus.

Detail of Apollo 11 Hasselblad camera image shows bright ray system centered on the lunar far side’s Giordano Bruno Crater (top center); July 1969; NASA ID AS11-44-6665: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons

The lunar far side’s Giordano Bruno Crater honors Italian cosmologist Giordano Bruno, whose 16th-century astronomical contributions included affirming the sun-centered model of the universe formulated by Renaissance-era Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.

Giordano Bruno is a lunar impact crater in the lunar far side’s northwestern quadrant. A high albedo, symmetrical ray system of ejecta centers on the northern hemisphere crater. Conspicuous brightness characterizes the crater’s rim.

Giordano Bruno Crater is centered at 35.97 degrees north latitude, 102.89 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 36.33 degrees north and 35.6 degrees north, respectively. The crater obtains its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 103.34 degrees east and 102.44 degrees east, respectively. Giordano Bruno has a diameter of 22.13 kilometers.

Giordano Bruno is positioned between two large named craters. Rays from Giordano Bruno Crater extend across Szilard Crater, which lies to the southeast. Harkhebi is Giordano Bruno’s northwestern neighbor.

Szilard Crater is centered at 33.71 degrees north latitude, 105.78 degrees east longitude. The impact-eroded crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend from 35.8 degrees north to 31.61 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 108.3 degrees east and 103.26 degrees east, respectively. Szilard Crater’s diameter measures 127.22 kilometers.

Harkhebi Crater is centered at 40.87 degrees north latitude, 98.74 degrees east longitude. The worn crater records northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 46.36 degrees north and 35.34 degrees north, respectively. It registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 104.6 degrees east and 92.94 degrees east, respectively. Harkhebi Crater’s diameter spans 337.14 kilometers.

Two of Harkhebi’s six satellites frame Giordano Bruno Crater in their overlying positions on their parent’s southeastern rim. Satellite J lies to the north-northeast of Giordano Bruno. Satellite K is positioned to the west of Giordano Bruno.

Harkhebi J is centered at 37.42 degrees north latitude, 103.36 degrees east longitude, respectively. It marks northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 38.11 degrees north and 36.73 degrees north, respectively. The satellite finds its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 104.23 degrees east and 102.49 degrees east, respectively. Harkhebi J’s diameter measures 43.11 kilometers.

Harkhebi K is centered at 35.81 degrees north latitude, 100.76 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes touch 36.23 degrees north and 35.38 degrees north, respectively. It posts easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 101.29 degrees east and 100.24 degrees east, respectively. Harkhebi K has a diameter of 25.92 kilometers.

Harkhebi K’s diameter qualifies it as the smaller of the two Harkhebi satellites that neighbor Giordano Bruno. Its diameter is 15 percent larger than Giordano Bruno’s 22.13-kilometer diameter.

Giordano Bruno Crater is named in honor of 16th-century Italian cosmologist Giordano Bruno (January? 1548-Feb. 17, 1600). The International Astronomical Union’s approval of the crater’s official name occurred in 1961 during the organization’s XIth (11th) General Assembly, held in Berkeley, California, from Tuesday, Aug. 15, to Thursday, Aug. 24.

Giordano Bruno’s astronomical contributions include his support of the heliocentric (“sun-centered”) model of the universe formulated by Renaissance-era Polish polymath Nicolaus Copernicus (Feb. 19, 1473-May 24, 1543). Bruno also expressed his understanding of the universe as infinite and of relativity’s inertial reference frames.

The 16th-century Dominican friar presented his cosmological model in a trilogy, beginning with Cena de le Ceneri (The Ash Wednesday Supper), published in London, England, in 1584. De la Causa, Principio et Uno (Cause, Principle and Unity) and De l’Infinito, Universo et Mondi (On the Infinite Universe and Worlds) comprised the trilogy’s second and third installments. Bruno’s ship illustrated relativity’s inertia, termed by Bruno as virtù (“power, quality”), in the third of five dialogues presented in La Cena de le Ceneri. He also discussed soli innumerabili ("innumerable suns") orbited by terre infinite ("an infinite number of earths") in the third dialogue.

The takeaways for the lunar far side’s Giordano Bruno Crater, which honors Italian cosmologist Giordano Bruno, are that the bright-rimmed lunar impact crater is located in the far side’s northwestern quadrant; that Giordano Bruno Crater lies between two larger impact craters, Harkhebi and Szilard; and that the crater’s namesake, 16th-century Italian cosmologist Giordano Bruno, tackled relativity’s inertia via Bruno’s ship, a sun-centered universe and infinite universes of earths orbiting suns in his writings.

Oblique view, obtained by Apollo 16 mapping camera, shows bright-rimmed Giordano Bruno Crater; April 1972; NASA ID AS16-M-3008: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), 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, obtained by Apollo 16 mapping camera, shows bright-rimmed Giordano Bruno Crater; April 1972; NASA ID AS16-M-3008: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Giordano_Bruno_crater_AS16-M-3008_ASU.jpg

For further information:

Bruno, Giordano. De la Causa, Principio et Uno. A Cura di Giovanni Aquilecchia. Nuova Raccolta di Classici Italiani Annotati 8. Torino [Turin, Italy]: Einaudi, 1973.
Available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine @ https://web.archive.org/web/20150404053441/http://www.liberliber.it/mediateca/libri/b/bruno/de_la_causa_principio_et_uno/pdf/de_la__p.pdf

Bruno, Giordano. De l’Infinito, Universo e Mondi. Stampato in Venezia, Anno MDLXXXIV. In: Michele Ciliberto, cur., Dialoghi Filosofici Italiani. Letteratura Italiana Einaudi. Milano [Milan, Italy]: Mondadori, 2000.
Available @ http://www.esolibri.it/testi/alchimia/alchi%20ita/ITA%20Dell'Infinito%20Universo%20e%20Mondi%20-%20Giordano%20Bruno%20(E-Book).pdf

Bruno, Giordano. La Cena de le Ceneri The Ash Wednesday Supper. Edited and translated by Edward A. Gosselin and Lawrence S. Lerner. Hamden CT: Archon Books, 1977.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000722284

Bruno, Giordano. La Cena de le Ceneri The Ash Wednesday Supper. Edited and translated by Edward A. Gosselin and Lawrence S. Lerner. Renaissance Society of America reprint texts 4. Toronto, Canada; Buffalo NY; London UK: University of Toronto Press in association with the Renaissance Society of America, 1995.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=T6QMNmJNYssC

Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

De Angelis, Alessandro; and Catarina Espirito Santo. “The Contribution of Giordano Bruno to the Principle of Relativity.” Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, vol. 18, no. 3 (November / December 2015): 241-248.
Available @ http://www.narit.or.th/en/files/2015JAHHvol18/2015JAHH...18..241D.pdf

Fitzgerald, Timothy. “English Historical Documents, 1660-1832.” Pages 231-265. In: Discourse on Civility and Barbarity: A Critical History of Religion and Related Categories. New York NY: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=b67p1VdF_OoC&pg=PA239

Grego, Peter. The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. London UK: Springer-Verlag, 2005.

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Giordano Bruno.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2172

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Harkhebi.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2365

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Harkhebi J.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/9725

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Harkhebi K.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/9726

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Szilard.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5799

Levy, David H. Skywatching. Revised and updated. San Francisco CA: Fog City Press, 1994.

Marriner, Derdriu. “Szilard Crater Honors Hungarian-American Physicist Leo Szilard.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/02/szilard-crater-honors-hungarian.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Szilard Crater Parents Two Satellites on Lunar Far Side.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/02/szilard-crater-parents-two-satellites.html

Martel, Linda M.V. “How Young Is the Lunar Crater Giordano Bruno?” PSRD Planetary Science Research Discoveries. Feb. 17, 2010.
Available @ http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Feb10/GiordanoBrunoCrater.html

The Moon Wiki. “IAU Directions.” The Moon.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/IAU_directions

The Moon Wiki. “Giordano Bruno.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > G Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Giordano_Bruno

The Moon Wiki. “Harkhebi.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > H Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Harkhebi

The Moon Wiki. “Szilard.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > S Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Szilard

Moore, Patrick, Sir. Philip’s Atlas of the Universe. Revised edition. London UK: Philip’s, 2005.

Sadler, D. (Donald) H., ed. XIth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. XI B Proceedings of the 11th General Assembly Berkeley CA, August 15-24, 1961. Oxford UK: Blackwell Scientific Publications, Jan. 1, 1962.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

Singer, Dorothea Waley. Giordano Bruno: His Life and Thought. With Annotated Translation of His Work On the Infinite Universe and Worlds. New York NY: Henry Schuman, 1950.
Available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine @ https://web.archive.org/web/20120914163935/http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/bruno00.htm#TOC

Tessicini, Dario. “Giordano Bruno on Copernican Harmony, Circular Uniformity and Spiral Motions.” Pages 117-156. In: M.A. Granada, P. Boner and D. Tessicini. Unifying Heaven and Earth: Essays in the History of Early Modern Cosmology. Barcelona, Catalonia: Edicions de la Universitat de Barcelona, 2016.
Available via Durham Research Online @ http://dro.dur.ac.uk/18284/1/18284.pdf?DDC115+DDD36+dml0dt+d700tmt

Wright, Alex. “Bruno’s Heresy.” Glut: Mastering Information Through the Ages: 128-131.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=OtyRAw2ZLCUC&pg=PA128&lpg=PA128

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Szilard Crater Honors Hungarian-American Physicist Leo Szilard

Summary: Szilard Crater honors Hungarian-American physicist Leo Szilard, a nuclear pioneer whose Einstein-Szilard letter prompted the U.S. nuclear program.

Detail of oblique, northeast-facing view, obtained during Apollo 16 mission, shows Szilard Crater (center) with Giordano Bruno Crater (upper left corner); ray streaking from Giordano Bruno across Szilard's northwestern rim (upper left) to southeastern rim between Szilard H (bottom right) and Szilard M (center right); and Richardson E (lower left) squeezed between Richardson Crater (lower left corner) and Szilard; NASA ID AS16-M-3008: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons

The lunar far side’s Szilard Crater honors Hungarian-American physicist Leo Szilard, a nuclear pioneer who authored the Einstein-Szilard letter, signed by theoretical physicist Albert Einstein and sent to U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, advocating U.S. nuclear development.

Szilard Crater is a lunar impact crater in the lunar side’s northwestern quadrant. The impact-eroded crater displays a rumpled western interior floor. Small and large craterlets pockmark Szilard’s relatively level eastern interior floor.

Szilard is centered at 33.71 degrees north latitude, 105.78 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 35.8 degrees north and 31.61 degrees north, respectively. The worn crater obtains easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 108.3 degrees east and 103.26 degrees east, respectively. Szilard Crater’s diameter spans 127.22 kilometers.

Radial streaks of fine ejecta from the ray system centered on northwestern neighbor Giordano Bruno Crater extend across Szilard’s rim and interior. Giordano Bruno is centered at 35.97 degrees south latitude, 102.89 degrees east longitude. The bright crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes stretch from 36.33 degrees north to 35.6 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes are found at 103.34 degrees east and 102.44 degrees east, respectively. Giordano Bruno has a diameter of 35.97 kilometers.

Szilard Crater is classified as a primary crater in the Szilard Crater system. The primary crater parents two proximitous satellites. Szilard H gouges its parent’s southeastern rim. Szilard M perches to the south-southeast of its parent.

Szilard Crater’s west-southwestern named neighbor is Richardson Crater. The large lunar impact crater’s eastern satellite, Richardson E, squeezes between its parent’s eastern rim and Szilard’s southwestern rim.

Richardson Crater participates in a distinctive formation with craters Maxwell and Lomonosov. Maxwell Crater infringes upon southwestern Richardson. Lomonosov overlies southern Maxwell.

The Szilard Crater systems honors 20th-century Hungarian-American physicist Leo Szilard (Leó Szilárd). The International Astronomical Union approved the primary crater’s official name in 1970 during the organization’s XIVth (14th) General Assembly, which was held in the seaside resort of Brighton in South East England from Tuesday, Aug. 18, to Thursday, Aug. 27. Prior to its formal naming, Szilard Crater was designated as Crater 116. Approval of the letter designations for Szilard’s two satellites was given in 2006.

Leo Szilard (Feb. 11, 1898-May 30, 1964) is credited with the joint discovery of a technique for separation of isotopes (chemical element variants differing in numbers of neutrons in each atom) for medical purposes in 1934. Szilard and English physicist Thomas A. Chalmers made their discovery at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, United Kingdom. The method is known as the Szilard-Chalmers effect or process.

Szilard’s interest in nuclear fission chain reactions and his concern over Germany’s nuclear weapon project prompted the Einstein-Szilard letter of Aug. 2, 1939. Szilard collaborated with Hungarian-American theoretical physicists Edward Teller (Jan. 15, 1908-Sept. 9, 2003) and Eugene Paul “E.P.” Wigner (Nov. 17, 1902-Jan. 1, 1995) in writing the letter warning of the development of uranium as a “new and important source of energy” via nuclear chain reactions. “This new phenomenon would also lead to the construction of bombs, and it is conceivable -- though much less certain -- that extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed,” the letter warned. The letter was addressed to 32nd U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Jan. 30, 1882-April 12, 1945) and was sent with German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879-April 18, 1955) as the sole signatory.

The takeaways for the lunar far side’s Szilard Crater, which honors 20th-century Hungarian-American physicist Leo Szilard, are that the primary lunar impact crater is located the far side’s northwestern quadrant; that Szilard Crater parents two proximitous satellites, Szilard H and Szilard M; and that the crater’s namesake physicist is credited with the Szilard-Chalmers effect for using isotopes for medical purposes, with pioneering involvement in nuclear chain reactions and with co-authoring on Aug. 2, 1939, the Einstein-Szilard letter urging development of the U.S. nuclear program.

Detail of Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography Map shows lunar far side’s Szilard Crater (upper right) and satellites Szilard H (unmarked; side parent, map right) and Szilard M (unmarked; belw parent, map right), with craterlet on M's northwestern rim, in the northwestern quadrant: U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, 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:

Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Grego, Peter. The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. London UK: Springer-Verlag, 2005.

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Richardson.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5027

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Szilard H.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/13351

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Szilard M.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/13352

Levy, David H. Skywatching. Revised and updated. San Francisco CA: Fog City Press, 1994.

Marriner, Derdriu. “Near Side Lunar Crater Swift Honors American Astronomer Lewis Swift.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/01/near-side-lunar-crater-swift-honors.html

Menzel, D.H. (Donald Howard); M. (Marcel) Minnaert; B. (Borris) Levin; A. (Audouin) Dollfus; and B. (Barbara) Bell. “Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of The IAU.” Space Science Reviews, vol. 12, issue 2 (June 1971): 136-186.
Available via Springer Link @ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00171763

The Moon Wiki. “IAU Directions.” The Moon.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/IAU_directions

The Moon Wiki. “Giordano Bruno.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > G Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Giordano_Bruno

The Moon Wiki. “Richardson.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > R Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Richardson

The Moon Wiki. “Szilard.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > S Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Szilard

Moore, Patrick, Sir. Philip’s Atlas of the Universe. Revised edition. London UK: Philip’s, 2005.

Szilard, Leo; and T.A. Chalmers. “Chemical Separation of the Radioactive Element From its Bombarded Isotope in the Fermi Effect.” Nature, vol. 134, issue 3386 (Sept. 22, 1934): 462.
Available via Nature @ https://www.nature.com/articles/134462b0

Thomson, G.P. (George Paget); and A. (Alexander) Reid. “Diffraction of Cathode Rays by a Thin Film.” Nature, vol. 119, issue 890 (June 18, 1927).
Available via Nature @ https://www.nature.com/articles/119890a0

Wigner, Eugene P. “Leo Szilard 1898-1964.” National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir. Washington DC: National Academy of Sciences, 1969.
Available via NAS Online @ http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/szilard-leo.pdf

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Harkhebi Crater Honors Early Ptolemaic Astronomer Prince Harkhebi

Summary: The lunar far side’s Harkhebi Crater honors early Ptolemaic astronomer Prince Harkhebi, who is known via an inscribed statue discovered in 1906.

Detail of oblique, northward view, obtained 1967 by Lunar Orbiter 5, shows Harkhebi Crater (center) encircling superimposed Fabry Crater (center right), with western rim grazer Vashakidze Crater (upper right); NASA ID Frame 5181: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons

The lunar far side’s Harkhebi Crater honors early Ptolemaic astronomer Prince Harkhebi, whose achievements as an observational astronomer are recorded on an inscribed statue dated to the third century BCE and discovered in 1906.

Harkhebi Crater occupies the lunar far side’s northwestern quadrant, beyond the near side’s northeastern limb. Impacts have extensively eroded and worn Harkhebi’s outer rim. Craterlets dot the crater’s rough, uneven interior floor.

Harkhebi is centered at 40.87 degrees north latitude, 98.74 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 46.36 degrees north and 35.34 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 104.6 degrees east and 92.94 degrees east, respectively. Harkhebi’s diameter spans 337.14 kilometers.

Harkhebi parents six satellites, all of which respect their parent’s boundaries. Satellites H, T, U and W are strewn across their parent’s interior floor. Satellites J and K are located on their parent’s southeastern rim.

Harkhebi’s north-northeastern half hides under superimposed Fabry Crater. The impact-notched crater is centered at 43.07 degrees north latitude, 100.68 degrees east longitude. It records northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 46.03 degrees north and 40.11 degrees north, respectively. It registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 104.73 degrees east and 96.64 degrees east, respectively. Fabry’s diameter measures 179.44 kilometers.

Vashakidze Crater’s southeastern rim brushes against Harkhebi’s northwestern rim. The well-defined crater is centered at 43.65 degrees north latitude, 93.01 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 44.4 degrees north and 42.91 degrees north, respectively. Vashakidze obtains easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 94.04 degrees east and 91.99 degrees east, respectively. Vashakidze Crater has a diameter of 44.99 kilometers.

The Harkhebi Crater system lies to the southeast of Mare Humboldtianum (Humboldt Sea). The limb-straddling lunar mare is centered at 56.92 degrees north latitude, 81.54 degrees east longitude. The middle-latitude dark basaltic plain invades the moon’s north polar region with its northernmost latitude posting of 60.02 degrees north. Its southernmost latitude touches 53.65 degrees north. Humboldt Sea’s easternmost and westernmost longitudes are found at 88.49 degrees east and 74.75 degrees east, respectively. Mare Humboldtianum’s diameter measures 230.78 kilometers.

Harkhebi Crater honors early Ptolemaic astronomer Prince Harkhebi. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved Harkhebi as the crater’s official name in 1979, during the organization’s XVIIth (17th) General Assembly, held in Montreal, Canada, from Tuesday, Aug. 14, to Thursday, Aug. 23. Prior to its formal naming, Harkhebi Crater was designated as Basin I.

Prince Harkhebi is known through his inscribed, third century BCE statue. Egypt’s first Egyptologist, Ahmed Kamal (July 29, 1849-Aug. 5, 1923), reported the 1906 finding of the basalt statue in the seventh volume of Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte. The owner of a farm in the northeastern Egyptian village of Faqous discovered the statue on his property, adjacent to the Northeastern Nile Delta archaeological site of Tell Faraoun, also known as Tell Nebesha or Tell Nebesheh (“Il a quelques mois, un notable de Faqous trouva dans sa ferme, adjacente à Tell Faraoun, une statue debout en basalte de 0 m. 65 cent. . . .” page 239).

The statue bore two inscriptions. A short inscription on the statue’s left side comprised two vertical columns. A longer inscription adorned the statue’s back pillar. Comprising three vertical lines, the longer inscription vaunts Harkhebi’s abilities and responsibilities.

Harkhebi’s longer inscription credits the astronomer prince with knowledge of the risings and culminations of every observable star. His talents included understanding and timing the sun’s movements and predicting the heliacal (Ancient Greek ἡλιακός hēliakós, “of the sun”) rising, or star rise, of Sopdet.

Star rise references a star’s annual return to visibility after its obscured position behind the sun, from the perspective of Earth. A star that does not remain above the horizon year-round breaks its absence from the nighttime sky with an appearance before sunrise.

Sopdet was an ancient Egyptian sky goddess who personified the star Sirius (Alpha Canis Majoris, α Canis Majoris; Alpha CMa, α CMa). Ancient Egyptians connected the brightest star in the nighttime sky with the annually renewed fertility of land along the Nile River. The heliacal rising of Sirius in summer signaled the Nile’s rising prior to the great river’s annual flooding, according to English Egyptologist Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (July 27, 1857-Nov. 23, 1934) in The Gods of the Egyptians (volume I, page 435), published in 1904.

The takeaways for the lunar far side’s Harkhebi Crater, which honors early Ptolemaic astronomer Prince Harkhebi, are that the large lunar impact crater occupies the far side’s northwestern quadrant, to the southeast of north polar Mare Humboldtianum; that Harkhebi Crater parents six satellites; and that the crater’s namesake is known through a third century BCE inscribed statue enumerating his accomplishments in observational astronomy.

Detail of Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography Map shows lunar far side’s Harkhebi Crater (lower right), with superimposed Fabry Crater (center right) and western rim grazer Vashakidze Crater (center), in the northwestern quadrant: U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, 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:

Budge, E.A. (Ernest Alfred) Wallis. The Gods of the Egyptians, or, Studies in Egyptian Mythology. Vol. I. London UK: Methuen & Co., 1904.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/godsofegyptianso00budg/

Budge, E.A. (Ernest Alfred) Wallis. The Gods of the Egyptians, or, Studies in Egyptian Mythology. Vol. II. London UK: Methuen & Co., 1904.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/godsofegyptianso02budg/

Clagett, Marshall. “Document III.18: Introduction Inscriptions on the Statue of the Astronomer Harkhebi.” Ancient Egyptian Science: A Source Book, Volume Two Calendars, Clocks, and Astronomy: 489-493. Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society Held at Philadelphia for Promoting Useful Knowledge Volume 214. Philadelphia PA: American Philosophical Society, 1995.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=xKKPUpDOTKAC&pg=PA489

Clagett, Marshall. “Document III.18 Inscriptions on the Statue of the Astronomer Harkhebi.” Ancient Egyptian Science: A Source Book, Volume Two Calendars, Clocks, and Astronomy: 495-496. Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society Held at Philadelphia for Promoting Useful Knowledge Volume 214. Philadelphia PA: American Philosophical Society, 1995.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=xKKPUpDOTKAC&pg=PA489

Conman, Joanne. “Origins of Astrology: The Egyptian Legacy.” Kepler College Articles > History of Astrology.
Available @ https://www.keplercollege.org/index.php/articles-opinions/history-of-astrology/872-origins-of-astrology-the-egyptian-legacy

Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Grego, Peter. The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. London UK: Springer-Verlag, 2005.

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Fabry.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/1896

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Harkhebi H.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/9724

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Harkhebi T.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/9727

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Harkhebi U.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/9728

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Harkhebi W.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/9729

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Mare Humboldtianum.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3676

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Vashakidze.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/6328

Kamal, Ahmed Bey. “Rapport Sur Quelques Localités de La Basse-Égypte.” Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’ÉRgypte, tome VII: 232-240. Le Caire [Cairo, Egypt]: Imprimerie de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, MDCCCVI (1906).
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Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/IAU_directions

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Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Fabry

The Moon Wiki. “Harkhebi.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > H Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Harkhebi

The Moon Wiki. “Mare Humboldtianum.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > H Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Mare_Humboldtianum

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Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Vashakidze

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