Earth and Space News

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Mercury's Munch Crater Honors Norwegian Painter Edvard Munch

Summary: Mercury's Munch Crater honors Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, whose artwork The Scream, first created in 1893, enjoys international popularity.

Neighborly trio of Poe, Munch and Sander craters occupies Mercury's far norther Caloris Planitia (Plain of Heat); yellow arrows indicate rim of Caloris Basin; image acquired Jan. 14, 2008, by Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of MESSENGER's Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) during first Mercury flyby; resolution at 520 meters/pixel (0.32 miles/pixel); scale at about 530 kilometers (330 miles) across; spacecraft altitude at 20,400 kilometers (12,400 miles); credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Mercury's Munch Crater honors Norwegian painter Edward Munch, who created the first of four versions of his internationally recognized, Expressionist artwork The Scream in 1893.

Munch Crater resides in Mercury's northern Caloris Planitia (Plain of Heat). Dark material encircles the impact crater's rim, according to the MESSENGER website hosted by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL).

Munch Crater is centered at 40.48 degrees north latitude, 207.18 degrees west longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. It registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 41.15 degrees north and 39.81 degrees north, respectively. It records easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 206.3 degrees west and 208.06 degrees west, respectively. Munch Crater's diameter measures 57 kilometers.

Munch Crater forms a neighborly trio on Caloris Planitia with Poe Crater and Sander Crater. Munch Crater occurs as the trio's southernmost member. Poe Crater claims the trio's northernmost position. Sander Crater lies to the southwest of Poe Crater and to the northeast of Munch Crater.

Poe Crater is centered at 43.76 degrees north latitude, 200.9 degrees west longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 44.69 degrees north and 42.62 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 199.67 degrees west and 202.13 degrees west, respectively. Poe Crater's diameter of 77 kilometers qualifies it as the largest of the trio.

Sander Crater is centered at 42.43 degrees north latitude, 205.44 degrees west longitude. It posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 42.97 degrees north and 41.88 degrees north, respectively. It marks its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 204.68 degrees west and 206.2 degrees west, respectively. Sander Crater's diameter of 47 kilometers qualifies it as the smallest of the trio.

The craterous trio neighbors in northern Caloris Planitia, a large plain in Mercury's Caloris impact basin. The plain is centered at 31.65 degrees north latitude, 198.02 degrees west longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 48.6 degrees north and 15.54 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes span 176.3 degrees west and 217.97 degrees west, respectively. Caloris Planitia spans 1,500 kilometers.

The trio's location in northern Caloris Planitia situates Thueban Facula (Arabic for "snake") as a northern neighbor. Mercury's bright spots, termed faculae (Latin: "little torch"), receive names for "snake" in various languages, according to the IAU's naming convention. Poe Crater is positioned to Thueban Facula's south while Munch and Sander craters are sited to the bright spot's southwest.

Thueban Facula is centered at 48.7 degrees north latitude, 200.5 degrees west longitude. It obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 49 degrees north and 48.4 degrees north, respectively. It finds its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 200.2 degrees west and 200.8 degrees west, respectively. Thueban Facula has a diameter of 25 kilometers.

Nāwahī (Nawahi) Crater lies to the southwest as Munch Crater's nearest named southern neighbor. The crater's name, approved Nov. 20, 2008, honors native Hawaiian painter Joseph Kahoʻoluhi Nāwahī (Jan. 13, 1842-Sept. 14, 1896), whose full Hawaiian name was Iosepa Kahoʻoluhi Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu.

Nawahi Crater is centered at 35.88 degrees north latitude, 214.74 degrees west longitude. The northern hemisphere crater establishes its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 36.34 degrees north and 35.43 degrees north, respectively. It sets its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 214.18 degrees west and 215.3 degrees west, respectively. Nawahi Crater has a diameter of 38 kilometers.

The IAU approved Munch Crater's name Nov. 20, 2008. The Mercurian impact crater honors Norwegian Expressionist painter and graphic artist Edvard Munch (Dec. 12, 1863-Jan. 23, 1944).

Edvard Munch created the first version of his artwork The Scream in 1893. He entitled the painting in German as Der Schrei der Natur (The Scream of Nature). The Norwegian title for the oil, tempera, pastel and crayon on cardboard painting is Skrik (Shriek).

The takeaways for Munch Crater's honoring Norwegian painter Edvard Munch are that the Mercurian impact crater's name accords with the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) convention of naming Mercury's craters after historically significant artists, authors and musicians; that Munch Crater forms a noticeable trio with neighbors Poe and Sander craters in northern Caloris Planitia (Hot Plain); and that Nawahi Crater lies to the southwest as Munch Crater's nearest named southern neighbor.

mosaic of Munch Crater from images (EN0218246341M, EN0218246345M, EN0218246349M) obtained July 3, 2011, by MESSENGER Narrow Angle Camera (NAC); north is up; image's approximate width at 39 kilometers: James Stuby (Jstuby/MESSENGER), 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:

Campbell, Paulette. "Mercury Features Receive New Names." Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory JHUAPL > News & Publications > News. April 28, 2008.
Available @ https://www.jhuapl.edu/PressRelease/080428

Darling, David. "Planetocentric and Planetographic Coordinates." David Darling > Encyclopedias > Encyclopedia of Science > P.
Available @ https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/P/planetocentric_coordinates.html

Davies, Merton E.; Stephen E. Dwornik; Donald E. Gault; and Robert G. Strom. "Figure 17. The regions of Mercury as seen by Mariner 10, with the locations of the nine sections of the Atlas indicated." Atlas of Mercury. SP-423. Prepared for the Office of Space Sciences. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scientific and Technical Information Office, 1978.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/SP-423/p21.htm

Fassett, Caleb I.; James W. Head; David M. H. Baker; Maria T. Zuber; David E. Smith; Gregory A. Neumann; Sean C. Solomon; Christian Klimczak; Robert G. Strom; Clark R. Chapman; Louise M. Prockter; Roger J. Phillips; Jürgen Oberst; and Frank Preusker. "Large Impact Basins on Mercury: Global Distribution, Characteristics, and Modification History From MESSENGER Orbital Data." Journal of Geophysical Research JGR Planets, vol. 117, issue E12 (December 2012). First published Oct. 27, 2012.
Available via Wiley Online Library @ https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2012JE004154
Available via Wiley Online Library @ https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2012JE004154

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Caloris Planitia.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated May 25, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/979

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Categories (Themes) for Naming Features on Planets and Satellites.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Documentation > Surface Feature Categories.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/Categories

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Coordinate Systems for Planets and Satellites.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Documentation > Target Coordinate Systems.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/TargetCoordinates

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Descriptor Terms (Feature Types).” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Documentation > Descriptor Terms.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Munch.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 12, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14513

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Nāwahī.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 12, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14515

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Poe.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 12, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14517

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Sander.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 13, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14395

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Thueban Facula.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated April 3, 2018.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/15729

Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "PIA10359: Caloris Basin -- in Color!" PhotoJournal. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/University of Copenhagen. Image Addition Date: 2008-07-15.
Available @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10359

Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "PIA10383: The Great Caloris Basin on Mercury." PhotoJournal. Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/Brown University. Image Addition Date: 2008-01-30.
Available @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10383

Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "PIA10606: Exploring the Evolution of the Caloris Basin." PhotoJournal. Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington. Image Addition Date: 2008-03-19.
Available @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10606

Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "PIA11219: Exploring Mercury's Surface with MESSENGER's Color Images." PhotoJournal. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/University of Copenhagen. Image Addition Date: 2008-09-16.
Available @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11219

Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "PIA11764: Say Aloha to Nawahi!." PhotoJournal. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/University of Copenhagen. Image Addition Date: 2008-12-08.
Available @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11764

Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "PIA11762: New Names for a Second Set of Craters on Mercury." PhotoJournal. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/University of Copenhagen. Image Addition Date: 2008-11-26.
Available @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11762

Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "PIA12034: A Trio of Craters: Munch, Sander, and Poe." PhotoJournal. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/University of Copenhagen. Image Addition Date: 2009-02-17.
Available @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12034

Lunar and Planetary Institute. "Mercury Map Catalog." Lunar and Planetary Institute > Resources.
Available @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mercury_maps/

Mancinelli, Paolo; Francesco Minelli; Cristina Pauselli; and Costanzo Federico. "Geology of the Raditladi Quadrangle, Mercury (H04)." Journal of Maps, vol. 12, issue supplement 1 (2016): 190-202. Published online June 7, 2016. DOI: 10.1080/17445647.2016.1191384.
Available via Taylor & Francis Online @ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17445647.2016.1191384
Available via Taylor & Francis Online @ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17445647.2016.1191384

Marriner, Derdriu. "Mercury's Nawahi Crater Honors Native Hawaiian Painter Joseph Nawahi." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/09/mercurys-nawahi-crater-honors-native.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Mercury's Poe Crater Honors American Poet and Writer Edgar Allan Poe." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/01/mercurys-poe-crater-honors-american.html

McNay, Anna. "Edvard Munch: The Graphic Works." Norwegian Arts.
Available @ http://norwegianarts.org.uk/edvard-munch-the-graphic-works/

MESSENGER. "A Trio of Craters: Munch, Sander, and Poe." NASA Mission to Mercury MESSENGER > Explore > Science Images Database. Release date Feb. 17, 2009.
Available @ https://messenger.jhuapl.edu/Explore/Science-Images-Database/gallery-image-292.html

National Aeronautics and Space Administration; The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; and Carnegie Institution of Washington. Mercury Flyby 1 Jan. 14, 2008, Press Kit.
Available @ https://messenger.jhuapl.edu/Resources/Resources/MercuryFlyby1PressKitFINAL_1_10_08.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration; The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; and Carnegie Institution of Washington. Mercury Flyby 2 Oct. 6, 2008, Press Kit.
Available @ https://messenger.jhuapl.edu/Resources/Resources/MercuryFlyby2_FinalPressKit.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration; The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; and Carnegie Institution of Washington. Mercury Flyby 3 Sept. 29, 2009, Press Kit.
Available @ https://messenger.jhuapl.edu/Resources/Resources/M3FlbybyPK_Draft3_92309.pdf

Perry, Mark E. Perry; Gregory A. Neumann; Roger J. Phillips; Olivier S. Barnouin; Carolyn M. Ernst; Daniel S. Kahan; Sean C. Solomon; Maria T. Zuber; David E. Smith; Steven A. Hauck; Stanton J. Peale; Jean-Luc Margot; Erwan Mazarico; Catherine L. Johnson; Robert W. Gaskell; James H. Roberts; Ralph L. McNutt Jr.; and Juergen Oberst. "The Low-Degree Shape of Mercury." Geophysical Research Letters, 42 (published online Sept. 12, 2015): 6951–6958. DOI:10.1002/2015GL065101.
Available via Wiley Library Online @ https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/2015GL065101

Perry, Mark E.; Daniel S. Kahan; Olivier S. Barnouin; Carolyn M. Ernst; Sean C. Solomon; Maria T. Zuber; David E. Smith; Roger J. Phillips; Steven A. Hauck; Gregory A. Neumann; Stanton J. Peale; Jean-Luc Margot; Erwan Mazarico; Catherine L. Johnson; Robert W. Gaskell; James H. Roberts; Sami W. Asmar; and Ralph L. McNutt, Jr. "Radio Frequency Occultations Show That Mercury Is Oblate." The 44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, The Woodlands, Texas, March 18–22, 2013.
Available @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2013/pdf/2485.pdf

Space Exploration Resources. "Place Names on Mercury." Arizona State University Space Exploration Resources > Resources > Mercury: Mariner 10 > Mercury Gazetteer
Available @ http://ser.sese.asu.edu/M10/GAZET/index.html

Strom, Robert G.; and Ann L. Sprague. Exploring Mercury: The Iron Planet. Springer-Praxis Books in Astronomy and Space Sciences. London UK; New York NY: Springer; Chichester UK: Praxis Publishing, 2003.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/exploringmercury00stro

Strom, Robert G. Mercury: The Elusive Planet. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 1987.

Talbert, Tricia, ed. "All About That Basic." NASA > MESSENGER > Image feature. Feb. 1, 2017.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/all-about-that-basin

U.S. Geological Survey. "Shaded Relief Map of the Caloris Planitia Area of Mercury." Atlas of Mercury. Comparative Planetology Series. Arlington VA: U.S. Geological Survey, 1979.
Available @ https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/Mercury/Topography/Mercury-Shaded-Relief-Map-of-the-Caloris-Planitia-Region

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Mercury's Poe Crater Honors American Poet and Writer Edgar Allan Poe

Summary: Mercury's Poe Crater honors American poet and writer Edgar Allan Poe, whose accomplishments include pioneering the detective fiction genre in English.

High-resolution targeted color observation image of Mercury's Poe Crater, obtained July 3, 2011, by MESSENGER space probe, highlights blue-white speckling by tiny hollows, depressions haloed by bright (high albedo) materials, in the crater's rim; credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA Goddard Photo and Video), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Mercury's Poe Crater honors American poet and writer Edgar Allan Poe, whose three short stories with ratiocinative (Latin ratiocinor, “to reckon, argue”) character C. Auguste Dupin pioneered the detective fiction genre in English.

Poe Crater is located in the northern part of Caloris Planitia (Hot Plain) on the solar system's smallest planet, Mercury. Both hummocky and smooth material have infilled Poe Crater.

Poe Crater presents a clear, continuous rim. Superposed craters dot the interior floor. The five largest superposed craters reside in northern Poe Crater. Two superposed craters flank the largest superposed crater in its cut across Poe Crater's northern rim. Two fairly equally-sized superposed craters, located to the southeast of the largest superposed rim crater, gouge Poe Crater's interior floor.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has approved a planetographic coordinate system for Mercury. In his online Encyclopedia of Science, British astronomer David Darling explains that surface features on oblate (Late Latin: oblātus, ob, “in front of, before” plus lātus, “broad, wide”) planets are measured according to the planetographic coordinate system. As an oblate planet, Mercury exhibit flattened poles.

The planetographic coordinate system easily converts to the planetocentric coordinate system, according to Darling. The planetographic coordinate system increases longitude to the west whereas the planetocentric system increases longitude to the east.

Poe Crater is centered at 43.76 degrees north latitude, 200.9 degrees west longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The Mercurian impact crater marks northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 44.69 degrees north and 42.62 degrees north, respectively. It posts easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 199.67 degrees west and 202.13 degrees west, respectively. Poe Crater's diameter measures 77 kilometers.

Poe Crater occupies northern Caloris Planitia (Hot Plain). The Mercurian plain is located in the Raditladi quadrangle, one of the 15 quadrangles into which Mercury's surface has been divided. Caloris Planitia is centered at 31.65 degrees north latitude, 198.02 degrees west longitude. Mercury's Hot Plain establishes northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 48.6 degrees north and 15.54 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 176.3 degrees west and 217.97 degrees west, respectively. Caloris Planitia spans 1,500 kilometers.

Poe Crater forms a distinctive trio with Munch Crater and Sander Crater in northern Caloris Planitia. Closer neighbor Sander Crater lies to the west-northwest of Poe Crater. Munch Crater neighbors to the northwest of Munch Crater.

Sander Crater, the middle crater in the trio, is centered at 42.43 degrees north latitude, 205.44 degrees west longitude. It obtains its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 42.97 degrees north and 41.88 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at 204.68 degrees west and 206.2 degrees west, respectively. Sander Crater has a diameter of 47 kilometers.

Munch Crater anchors the trio's southwesternmost point. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 41.15 degrees north and 39.81 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes span 206.3 degrees west and 208.06 degrees west, respectively. Munch Crater's diameter measures 57 kilometers.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) officializes names of features on solar system bodies. The international association of professional (Ph.D. level or beyond) astronomers assigns categories or themes to solar system features. The IAU's online Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey's Astrogeology Science Center, identifies the naming guidelines for craters on the solar system's smallest planet, Mercury: "Artists, musicians, painters, and authors who have made outstanding or fundamental contributions to their field and have been recognized as art historically significant figures for more than 50 years."

The IAU approved Poe Crater's name Nov. 20, 2008. The Mercurian impact crater honors American poet and writer Edgar Allan Poe (Jan. 19, 1809-Oct. 7, 1849), whose literary accomplishments include memorable poems such as "The Raven" (published Jan. 29, 1845) and "Annabel Lee" (first published, posthumously, Oct. 9, 1849) and the first detective fiction in English, The Murders in the Rue Morgue (April 1841. Poe revisited C. Auguste Dupin's ratiocinative skills in The Mystery of Marie Rogêt (November 1842). He published The Purloined Letter (December 1844) as his third "tale of ratiocination."

The takeaways for Poe Crater's honoring American poet and writer Edgar Allan Poe are that the Mercurian impact crater's name adheres to the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) convention of naming Mercury's craters after historically significant artists, authors and musicians; that a cluster of two superposed rim craters and two superposed interior floor craters distinguish Poe Crater; and that Poe Crater forms a noticeable trio with neighbors Munch and Sander craters in northern Caloris Planitia (Plain of Heat).

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

(left to right) neighborly trio of Munch, Sander and Poe craters in enhanced color mosaic (Image IDs 458397, 458398, 458399, 460433, 460434, 460435) obtained July 3 and July 4, 2011, by Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS); NASA ID PIA19421; image addition date 2015-04-16; image credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19421; Generally not subject to copyright in the United States; may use this material for educational or informational purposes, including photo collections, textbooks, public exhibits, computer graphical simulations and Internet Web pages; general permission extends to personal Web pages, via NASA Image and Video Library @ https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA19421

Mosaic of Poe Crater's central region from images (EN0218161456M, EN0218161460M, EN0218161464M) obtained July 3, 2011, by MESSENGER Narrow Angle Camera (NAC), shows cluster of five large superposed craters (three on rim, two on interior floor); north is up; image's approximate width at 39 kilometers: James Stuby (Jstuby/MESSENGER), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poe_crater_MESSENGER_NAC_mosaic.jpg

For further information:

Antoniadi, E.M. (Eugène Michel). La Planète Mercure et la Rotation des Satellites. Paris, France: Gauthier-Villars, 1934.

Davies, Merton E.; Stephen E. Dwornik; Donald E. Gault; and Robert G. Strom. "Figure 17. The regions of Mercury as seen by Mariner 10, with the locations of the nine sections of the Atlas indicated." Atlas of Mercury. Special Publication SP-423. Prepared for the Office of Space Sciences. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scientific and Technical Information Office, 1978.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/SP-423/p21.htm

DeHon, R.A.; D.H. Scott; and J.R. Underwood Jr. "Geologic Map of the Kuiper Quadrangle of Mercury." IMAP 1233. Prepared for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Arlington VA: U.S. Geological Survey, 1981.
Available via USGS Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/i1233

Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "PIA12044: Moody Sculpts Mercury's Surface." PhotoJournal. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/University of Copenhagen. Image Addition Date: 2009-04-14.
Available @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12044

Lunar and Planetary Institute. "Mercury Map Catalog." Lunar and Planetary Institute > Resources.
Available @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mercury_maps/

Moore, Patrick, trans. The planet Mercury [by] E.M. Antoniadi. Translated from the French. Shaldon, England: K. Reid, 1974.

Ozawa, Ryan Kawailani. "Nawahi Crater on Mercury." Hawaii Blog. Nov. 27, 2008.
Available @ https://www.hawaiiweblog.com/2008/11/27/nawahi-crater

Strom, Robert G. Mercury: The Elusive Planet. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 1987.

Talbert, Tricia, ed. "All About That Basic." NASA > MESSENGER > Image feature. Feb. 1, 2017.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/all-about-that-basin

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Apollo 8 Imaged Joliot Crater During December 1968 Lunar Orbits

Summary: Apollo 8 imaged Joliot Crater during December 1968 lunar orbits conducted by the first three humans to travel to another astronomical body.

Apollo 8 imaged Joliot Crater during December 1968 lunar orbits conducted by the first human-crewed mission to journey to another astronomical body.

Crater Joliot is situated in a lava-flooded area to the north-northeast of Mare Marginis on the far side of the moon. As viewed from the moon, Joliot Crater occupies the far side’s northwestern quadrant, along the western limb. A favorable libration brings Joliot into view along the near side’s eastern limb for Earth-based moonwatchers.

Joliot Crater is centered at 25.79 degrees north latitude, 93.39 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 28.64 degrees north and 22.94 degrees north, respectively. Joliot obtains easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 96.55 degrees east and 90.22 degrees east, respectively. The lunar impact crater’s diameter spans 172.79 kilometers.

Joliot parents one satellite. Joliot P lies to the south-southwest of its parent. The satellite is centered at 22.34 degrees north latitude, 91.99 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes narrowly touch 22.54 degrees north and 22.15 degrees north, respectively. The satellite petitely marks easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 92.2 degrees east and 91.78 degrees east, respectively. Joliot P’s diameter measures 11.82 kilometers.

Two primary craters are attached to Joliot Crater’s rim. Lyapunov Crater hugs Joliot’s western rim. Rayleigh Crater snuggles against Joliot’s northwestern rim.

Lyapunov is centered at 12.7 degrees north latitude, 86.52 degrees east longitude. The lunar impact crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 27.54 degrees north and 25.31 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 90.61 degrees east and 88.12 degrees east, respectively. Lyapunov has a diameter of 67.58 kilometers.

Lyapunov is attached to the south-southeastern rim of Rayleigh Crater, the other crater adjoining Joliot. Rayleigh is centered at 29.12 degrees north latitude, 89.45 degrees east longitude. Rayleigh obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 31 degrees north and 27.24 degrees north, respectively. The lunar impact crater marks easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 91.59 degrees east and 87.3 degrees, respectively. Rayleigh’s diameter measures 113.77 kilometers.

Joliot Crater’s namesake is Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie (March 19, 1900-Aug. 14, 1958). In 1935, the French chemist and physicist was jointly awarded the Noble Prize in Chemistry with his wife, Irène Joliot-Curie (Sept. 12, 1897-March 17, 1956), for their discovery of induced radioactivity, also known as artificial radioactivity or manmade radioactivity. French chemist and physicist Irène Joliot-Curie was the elder daughter of Noble Prize winners Marie Skłodowska Curie (Nov. 7, 1867-July 4, 1934) and Pierre Curie (May 15, 1859-April 19, 1906). Irène and Jean combined their surnames to form Joliot-Curie as their married surname.

The crater’s name of Joliot-Curie was approved at the IAU’s Eleventh General Assembly, held in Berkeley, California, from Tuesday, Aug. 15, to Thursday, Aug. 24, 1961. The crater’s name was truncated to Joliot during the Fourteenth General Assembly, held in Brighton, United Kingdom, from Monday, Aug. 18, to Thursday, Aug. 27, 1970.

Crater Lyapunov’s namesake is Aleksandr Mikhailovich Lyapunov (June 6, 1857-Nov. 3, 1918). The Russian mathematician is credited with developing the stability theory of a dynamical system. The IAU approved the crater’s name during the organization’s Twelfth General Assembly, held in Hamburg, Germany, from Tuesday, Aug. 25, to Thursday, Sept. 3, 1964.

Crater Rayleigh honors John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh (Nov. 12, 1842-June 30, 1919). The British physicist received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1904 for his research on important gas densities and for his discovery of argon (chemical symbol Ar; atomic number 18), the third most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere. The crater’s name joined Lyapunov Crater in receiving official approval during the IAU’s twelfth General Assembly.

Apollo 8 launched Saturday, Dec. 21, 1968, as the first human-crewed, lunar orbiting mission. The mission’s Command-Service Module (CSM) 103 made 10 lunar orbits between Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, and Christmas, Wednesday, Dec. 25. Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) William Alison Anders (born Oct. 17, 1933) was tasked as the mission’s official photographer. Frank Frederick Borman II (born March 14, 1928) commanded the mission. James “Jim” Arthur Lovell Jr. (born March 25, 1928) crewed as the Command Module Pilot (CMP).

The takeaway for Apollo 8’s image of Joliot Crater during the mission’s December 1968 lunar orbits is that the impact crater's placement along the lunar far side's western limb allows for visibility to Earth-based moonwatchers during favorable librations.

Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 46 shows Joliot Crater, with attached primary craters Lyapunov and Rayleigh to the west (left) and satellite Joliot P to the south (below); scale 1:1,000,000; Mercator Projection: United States Air Force (USAF) Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) via USGS/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:

High-altitude, oblique view, looking northeastward across lunar far side, shows Joliot Crater (center left), dark-floored Lomonosov Crater (center right) and bright-rayed Giordano Bruno (below Lomonosov); Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 1968, photograph taken from Apollo 8 spacecraft; NASA ID AS08-12-2209; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): Generally not subject to copyright in the United States; may use this material for educational or informational purposes, including photo collections, textbooks, public exhibits, computer graphical simulations and Internet Web pages; general permission extends to personal Web pages, via NASA Image and Video Library @ https://images.nasa.gov/details-as08-12-2209;
No known copyright restrictions, via GetArchive NARA (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) & DVIDS (Defense Visual Information Distribution Service) Public Domain Archive @ https://nara.getarchive.net/media/as08-12-2209-apollo-8-apollo-8-mission-image-joliot-curie-lomonosov-e46a92;
NASA Johnson Space Center Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, No copyright maintained, via Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth @ https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/SearchPhotos/photo.pl?mission=AS08&roll=12&frame=2209;
Project Apollo Archive (Apollo Image Gallery), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/projectapolloarchive/21879350378;
Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AS08-12-2209_(21879350378).jpg

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Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 8 Imaged Goclenius Crater During December 1968 Lunar Orbits.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/12/apollo-8-imaged-goclenius-crater-during.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 8 Imaged Lomonosov Crater During December 1968 Lunar Orbits.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/12/apollo-8-imaged-lomonosov-crater-during.html

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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Apollo 8 Imaged Lomonosov Crater During December 1968 Lunar Orbits

Summary: Apollo 8 imaged Lomonosov Crater during December 1968 lunar orbits conducted by the first crewed spaceflight mission to visit another astronomical body.

Apollo 8 imaged Lomonosov Crater during December 1968 lunar orbits conducted by the first crewed spaceflight mission to travel to and orbit another astronomical body, Earth’s moon.

Lomonosov Crater lies to the northeast of irregularly shaped Mare Marginis (Sea of the Edge) on the lunar far side. As viewed from the moon, Lomonosov occupies the far side’s northwestern quadrant, near the western limb. Lomonosov closely neighbors the east-northeastern rim of Joliot Crater.

Lomonosov presents a dark, lava-flooded interior floor. Craterlets puncture the floor’s level surface. Bright material that streak across the floor originated as ejecta from Giordano Bruno Crater, distanced approximately 300 kilometers to the northeast.

In their paper at the XXVIII (28th) Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, held in Houston, Texas, in March 1997, lunar geologists Jeffrey J. Gillis, Paul D. Spudis and D. Ben J. Bussey noted the prolonged volcanism in the areas of Mare Marginis and the lunar mare’s southern neighbor, Mare Smythii (Sea of Smyth). Over time, the eruptions decreased in volume and spewed only in Mare Smythii and Lomonosov.

Lomonosov is centered at 27.35 degrees north latitude, 98.28 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater stretches to 28.85 degrees north and 25.85 degrees north for its northernmost and southernmost latitudes, respectively. The lunar impact crater marks easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 99.96 degrees east and 96.59 degrees east, respectively. Lomonosov’s diameter spans 90.69 kilometers.

Crater Lomonosov honors 18th century Russian poet, scientist and grammarian Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov (Nov. 19, 1711-April 15, 1765). The Russian polymath is credited with hypothesizing the existence of a Venusian atmosphere after observing the transit of Venus his observatory in Saint Petersburg in Saturday, June 6, 1761. Lomonosov Crater received official approval during the IAU’s Eleventh General Assembly, held in Berkeley, California, from Tuesday, Aug. 15, to Thursday, Aug. 24, 1961.

The European Space Agency’s Science & Technology website identifies Crater Lomonosov as the southernmost of a trio of overlying craters. Lomonosov overlaps Maxwell Crater’s southern rim. Maxwell overlies Richardson Crater’s southwestern rim and extends almost to its host’s center.

Maxwell is centered at 29.9 degrees north latitude, 98.53 degrees east longitude. The lunar impact crater registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 31.71 degrees north and 28.1 degrees north, respectively. Maxwell’s easternmost and westernmost longitudes stretch to 100.6 degrees east and 96.45 degrees east, respectively. Its diameter spans 109.24 kilometers.

Crater Maxwell’s namesake is James Clerk Maxwell (June 13, 1831-Nov. 5, 1879). The Scottish mathematical physicist is credited with the unification of electricity, light and magnetism in his A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field, which he presented Thursday, Dec. 8, 1864, at the Royal Society in London. The crater’s name became official in August 1961 during the IAU’s Eleventh General Assembly.

Edison Crater adjoins Lomonosov’s southeastern outer rim. Edison is centered at 24.88 degrees north latitude, 99.27 degrees east longitude. The lunar impact crater marks northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 25.91 degrees north and 23.85 degrees north, respectively. Easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach to 100.41 degrees east and 98.13 degrees east, respectively. Edison’s diameter measures 62.72 kilometers.

Crater Edison honors Thomas Alva Edison (Feb. 11, 1847-Oct. 18, 1931). The American polymathic inventor’s plethora of interests included finding evidence of radio waves from the sun. The IAU officially approved the crater’s name in 1961 during the organization’s Eleventh General Assembly.

Apollo 8, the first human-crewed, lunar orbiting mission, began with liftoff Saturday, Dec. 21, 1968, and finished with splashdown Friday, Dec. 27. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Apollo 8 Mission Report, released February 1969, tallied the mission’s photographic output. “During the mission, seven 70-mm film magazines were exposed and yielded more than 150 photographs of the earth and more than 700 photographs of the moon. Five 16-mm color magazines were also exposed” (4-1).

The takeaway for Apollo 8’s image of Lomonosov Crater during the mission’s December 1968 lunar orbits is that the dark-floored crater in the lunar far side’s northwestern quadrant is streaked with bright material ejected from a distance of over 300 kilometers by bright-rayed crater Giordano Bruno.

Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 46 shows Lomonosov Crater (upper left), with attached primary craters Maxwell (above) and Edison (below); scale 1:1,000,000; Mercator Projection: United States Air Force (USAF) Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) via USGS/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:

Apollo 8 photograph of lunar far side shows dark-floored Lomonosov Crater (lower right) below bright-rayed Giordano Bruno Crater; NASA ID AS08-18-2883; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): NASA, Public Domain, via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/AS08-18-2883;
Generally not subject to copyright in the United States; may use this material for educational or informational purposes, including photo collections, textbooks, public exhibits, computer graphical simulations and Internet Web pages; general permission extends to personal Web pages, via NASA Image and Video Library @ https://images.nasa.gov/details-as08-18-2883.html;
No known copyright restrictions, via NARA (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) & DVIDS (Defense Visual Information Distribution Service) Public Domain Archive @ https://nara.getarchive.net/media/as08-18-2883-apollo-8-apollo-8-mission-image-moon-354b3b

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