Earth and Space News

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Victoria Quadrangle is Second of 15 Quadrangles of Mercurian Surface

Summary: Victoria Quadrangle is second of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface and covers northern middle latitudes longitudinally between 0 and 90 degrees.

Victoria Quadrangle is the second of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface and references the Swift Planet's northern middle latitudes between 0 and 90 degrees west longitude.

As the second of Mercury's 15 quadrangles, Victoria Quadrangle bears the letter-number designation of H-2 or H02. The letter H represents Hermes, Greek mythology's equivalent of Roman mythology's Mercury.

According to planetary geologist George E. (Emmert) McGill and lunar and space geologist Elbert A. (Aubrey) King's Geologic Map of the Victoria Quadrangle, published in 1983, the northern midlatitude region's provisional name was Aurora Albedo Province. The provisional name references Aurora, the bright-albedo feature appearing in the quadrangle's eastern half. Greek French astronomer Eugène Michel Antoniadi (March 1, 1870-Feb. 10, 1944) depicted Aurora with a latitudinal stretch of 20 degrees north to 50 degrees north on the map of Mercury's albedo features in his guide, La Planète Mercure, published in 1934 and translated into English by English amateur astronomer Sir Patrick Moore (March 4, 1923-Dec. 9, 2012) in 1974 (figure 5, page 26).

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved Victoria as the quadrangle's official name in 1976. A quadrangle's name derives from one of the area's prominent features. Victoria Quadrangle's namesake is Victoria Rupes, a scarp, or long cliff, in northeastern Victoria. The IAU convention requires naming rupes (Latin: rūpēs, "cliff, escarpment") after "ships of discovery or scientific expeditions," according to the IAU's U.S.G.S. (U.S. Geological Survey) Astrogeology Science Center-maintained, online Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Victoria Rupes, officially approved in 1976, honors the first ship to circumnavigate the Earth, Aug. 10, 1519-Sept. 6, 1522. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (Fernão de Magalhães; Feb. 4, 1480-April 27, 1521) commanded the Victoria until his murder, during the voyage, in the Philippines in the Battle of Mactan. Castilian-Basque explorer Juan Sebastián Elcano (misspelled as Del Cano;[ ca. 1486-Aug. 4, 1526) commanded the last portion of the voyage from eastern Indonesia's Moluccas to southern Spain's Sanlúcar de Barrameda, located in northwestern Cádiz province in the now-Autonomous Community of Andalucía. The ship's name eponymized Santa María de la Victoria de Triana, the church in Seville where Magellan pledged allegiance to the historical expedition's sponsor, Carlos I, King of Spain (Feb. 24, 1500-Sept. 21, 1558), who became Carlos V, Holy Roman Emperor, on June 28, 1519.

Victoria Rupes is centered at 52.71 degrees north latitude, 34.16 degrees west longitude, according to the IAU's Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The north-south trending scarp posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 56.4 degrees north and 48.73 degrees north, respectively. It marks its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 33.55 degrees west and 36.14 degrees west, respectively. Victoria Rupes spans 347 kilometers.

Victoria Rupes winds to the west of Borealis Planitia (Northern Plain) in northeastern Victoria Quadrangle. Borealis Planitia, namesake of Mercury's first quadrangle, Borealis, extends into Victoria's northeastern corner and continues along the quadrangle's eastern edge through Victoria's southeastern corner.

In their 1983 Geologic Map of the Victoria Quadrangle of Mercury, McGill and King recognized intercrater plains material, intermediate plains material and smooth plains material as the quadrangle's "three widespread units." As the oldest unit, the intercrater plains material exhibits a very high concentration of largely worn, small craters on an irregular-to-roughened terrain. Smooth textures and low crater density typify the youngest unit, smooth plains material. McGill and King characterized intermediate plains material as having a "relatively low albedo and . . . numerous elongate ridges."

Although associated with intermediate plains material, ridges cross into adjacent intercrater plains material. Also, smooth plains material may border elongate ridges and scarps. An offset of seemingly smooth plains material on crater floors by scarps may have occurred in craters such as Gluck.

The IAU adopts names of historically significant artists, authors, musicians and painters for Mercury's craters. Gluck Crater honors German classical composer Christoph von Gluck (July 2, 1714-Nov. 15, 1787). The IAU officially approved the crater's name in 1979.

Gluck Crater lies to the east and northeast of Borealis Planitia's occupancy of southeastern Victoria Quadrangle. Gluck Crater is centered at 37.95 degrees north latitude, 18.78 degrees west longitude. The Mercurian northern hemisphere midlatitude crater establishes northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 39.13 degrees north and 36.77 degrees north, respectively. The southeastern Victoria crater obtains easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 17.28 degrees west and 20.28 degrees west, respectively. Gluck Crater's diameter spans 100 kilometers.

As the second of Mercury's 15 mapping quadrangles, Victoria Quadrangle shares its northern border with the north polar region's Borealis Quadrangle. Hokusai Quadrangle (H05) borders Victoria Quadrangle's eastern edge. Victoria Quadrangle establishes its southern contiguity with Kuiper Quadrange (H06) and Beethoven Quadrangle (H07). Shakespeare Quadrangle (H03) neighbors to the west of Victoria Quadrangle.

The takeaways for Victoria Quadrangle as the second of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface are that the quadrangle covers one-fourth of the Swift Planet's northern middle latitudes; that the quadrangle's namesake, Victoria Rupes, eponymizes Portugese explorer Ferdinand Magellan's Earth-circumnavigating ship, Victoria; that Victoria Rupes trends north-south to the east of Borealis Planitia in northeastern Victoria Quadrangle; and that Victoria Quadrangle neighbors with Borealis Planitia to the north, Hokusai Quadrangle to the east, Kuiper and Beethoven quadrangles to the south and Shakespeare Quadrangle to the west.

Detail of Map of the H-2 (Victoria) Quadrangle of Mercury shows north-south trending Victoria Rupes (center) to the east of Borealis Planitia (upper right) in Victoria Quadrangle's southeastern corner; credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/USGS: courtesy IAU/USGS Astrogeology Science Center's 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:

Incomplete map of Borealis Region presents area of north polar region illuminated during Mariner 10 encounters; Geologic Map of the Borealis Region of Mercury (1984) by Maurice J. Grolier and Joseph M. Boyce, prepared on behalf of the Planetary Geology Program, Planetary Division, Office of Space Science, National Aeronautics and Space Administration: courtesy of U.S. Geological Service, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center's data portal, Astropedia, @ https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/Mercury/Geology/Mercury-Geologic-Map-of-the-Borealis-Region and via U.S. Geological Service's Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/i1660

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. 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/

Davies, Merton E.; Stephen E. Dwornik; Donald E. Gault; and Robert G. Strom. "H-2 Victoria Quadrangle." Atlas of Mercury: 32-39. 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/h2.htm

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Borealis Planitia.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated April 17, 2018.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/823

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. “Gluck.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 11, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2194

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

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Victoria Rupes.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Oct. 14, 2016.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/6379

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

Marriner, Derdriu. "Borealis Quadrangle Is First of 15 Quadrangles of Mercurian Surface." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/01/borealis-quadrangle-is-first-of-15.html

McGill, George E. (Emmert); and Elbert A. (Aubrey) King. Geologic Map of the Victoria Quadrangle of Mercury. IMAP 1409. H-2. Atlas of Mercury 1:5,000,000 Geologic Series. Prepared for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Reston VA: U.S. Geological Survey, Nov. 22, 1983.
Available via USGS Astrogeology Science Center's Astropedia Web Portal @ https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/Mercury/Geology/Mercury-Geologic-Map-of-the-Victoria-Quadrangle
Available via USGS Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/i1409

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

Müller, E.A. (Edith A); and A. (Arnost) Jappel, eds. IAU Transactions: XVI B Proceedings of the XVIth General Assembly Grenoble, France, August 24-September 21, 1976. Washington DC: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Jan. 1, 1977.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

U.S. Geological Survey. Shaded Relief Map of the Victoria Quadrangle of Mercury (Aurora Albedo Province). IMAP 1057 H-2. Atlas of Mercury 1:5,000,000 Topographic Series. Prepared on behalf of the Planetology Programs Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Reston VA: U.S. Geological Survey, Oct. 16, 1977.
Available via USGS Astrogeology Science Center's Astropedia Web Portal @ https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/Mercury/Topography/Mercury-Shaded-Relief-Map-of-the-Victoria-Quadrangle
Available via USGS Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/i1057

Wayman, P. (Patrick), ed. IAU Transactions: XVII Proceedings of the 17th General Assembly Montreal, Canada, August 14-23, 1979. Washington DC: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Jan. 1, 1980.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Borealis Quadrangle Is First of 15 Quadrangles of Mercurian Surface

Summary: Borealis Quadrangle is the first of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface and covers Mercury's north polar area through 65 degrees north latitude.

Incomplete map of Borealis Region presents area of north polar region illuminated during the Mariner 10 robotic space probe's three Mercury flybys (March 29, 1974; Sept. 21, 1974; March 16, 1975); Geologic Map of the Borealis Region of Mercury (1984) by Maurice J. Grolier and Joseph M. Boyce, prepared on behalf of the Planetary Geology Program, Planetary Division, Office of Space Science, National Aeronautics and Space Administration: courtesy of U.S. Geological Service Astrogeology Science Center's data portal, Astropedia

Borealis Quadrangle is the first of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface, and its map covers the Swift Planet's northern polar region, from the north pole southward to 65 degrees north latitude.

For mapping purposes, Mercury's surface is divided into 15 quadrangles. Each quadrangle has two designations. A letter-number identifier combines H for Hermes, Greek mythology's equivalent of Roman mythology's Mercury, with a number from 1 to 15. Borealis Quadrangle bears the designation of H-1 or H01.

The quadrangle's name associates with one of the area's notable features. According to geologists Maurice Grolier and Joseph Boyce's Geologic Map of the Borealis Region, published in 1984, Goethe, the north polar region's provisional name, references Goethe Basin, described by Grolier and Boyce as "a large, circular depression." The provisional name eponymized German literary genius Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Aug. 28, 1749-March 22, 1832).

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has established the convention of naming Mercury's craters after historically significant artists, authors, musicians and painters. The IAU approved Goethe in 1979, during the international association's XVIIth (17th) General Assembly, held in Montreal, Canada, from Tuesday, Aug. 14, to Thursday, Aug. 23.

Goethe Crater is centered at 81.1 degrees north latitude, 51.03 degrees west longitude, according to the IAU's USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) Astrogeology Science Center-maintained online database, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. It registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 84.79 degrees north and 77.41 degrees north, respectively. It records easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 26.45 degrees west and 75.61 degrees west, respectively. Goethe's diameter measures 317.17 kilometers.

The IAU adopted Borealis as the region's official name in 1976. The quadrangle's namesake is Borealis Planitia (Northern Plain). The IAU convention calls for designating planitiae (Latin: "plains") with names of Mercury, as god or planet, in various languages. Of the seven planitiae approved in 1976, Borealis Planitia and Caloris Planitia (Hot Plain) emerge as the only two exceptions to the convention.

Borealis Planitia is centered at 67.3 degrees north latitude, 327.4 degrees west longitude, according to the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The north polar plain's northernmost and southernmost latitudes stretch from 86.9 degrees north to 29.5 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend from 225.4 degrees west to 134.6 degrees west, respectively. Borealis Planitia's diameter spans 3,450 kilometers.

Tryggvadóttir Crater's northern rim touches Mercury's North Pole. In NASA's online Nov. 29, 2012, image feature, "Permanently Shadowed Polar Craters," Tryggvadóttir numbers among permanently shadowed, north polar craters hosting radar-bright deposits in a graphic presented in "Permanently Shadowed Polar Craters," NASA's online image feature for Nov. 29, 2012. The colorful red-and-yellow graphic is based upon Earth-based radar images and a mosaic of images obtained during the primary data collection mission of NASA's MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging), April 4, 2011, to March 17, 2012. The graphic's redness represents areas that are shadowed in all of the region's MESSENGER images. Red areas intensively characterize the north polar region from the north polar to 85 degrees north latitude. Yellow areas signify Earth-based radar-identified bright deposits. Tryggvadóttir Crater, neighbors Chesterton and Tolkien craters and nearby Kandinsky Crater all appear as golden landmarks surrounded by red terrain.

The IAU approved the north pole's crater Aug. 20, 2012, during the organization's XXVIIIth (28th) General Assembly, held in Beijing, China, from Monday, Aug. 20, to Friday. Aug. 31. The crater honors Icelandic abstract expressionist artist Nína Tryggvadóttir (March 16, 1913-June 18, 1968), born Jónína Tryggvadóttir.

Tryggvadóttir Crater is centered at 89.55 degrees north latitude, 171.56 degrees west longitude. It posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 89.92 degrees north and 89.18 degrees north, respectively. It marks its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 116.53 degrees west and 226.58 degrees west, respectively. Tryggvadóttir Crater has a diameter of 31 kilometers.

In their 1984 geologic map, Grolier and Boyce described the Borealis region as comprising intercrater plains material, intermediate plains material and smooth plains material. They recognized the intercrater plains material as the Borealis region's "oldest recognizable map unit" and characterized this material as densely dominated by superposed, usually shallowly elongated craters with diameters of 5 to 10 kilometers. The Borealis quadrangle's intermediate plains material offer a transition between intercrater plains material's crater density and smooth plains material's small, bright-halo craters.

Four northern midlatitude quadrangles shares their northern borders with Borealis Quadrangle's southern border. Victoria Quadrangle, Shakespeare Quadrangle, Raditladi Quadrangle and Hokusai Quadrangle are mapped as Borealis Quadrangle's southern neighbors.

The takeaways for Borealis Quadrangle as the first of 15 quadrangles of the Mercurian surface are that the Swift Planet's northernmost quadrangle has the letter-number designator of H-01, with H representing Hermes, Greek mythology's Olympian equivalent of Roman mythology's Mercury; that Borealis Quadrangle's namesake is the area's dominant feature, Borealis Planitia (Northern Plain); that Borealis Planitia joins Caloris Planitia (Hot Plain) as the only two exceptions to the International Astronomical Union's convention of naming plains after names for Mercury, as god or planet, in various languages; that Tryggvadóttir Crater, whose northern rim marks Mercury's north pole, honors 20th-century Icelandic abstract expressionist artist Nína Tryggvadóttir; and that intercrater plains material, transitional intermediate plains material and smooth plains material characterize Borealis Quadrangle's stratigraphy.

Charter", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> Map of the H-1 (Borealis) Quadrangle of Mercury; credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/USGS: courtesy IAU/USGS Astrogeology Science Center's 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:

Map of the H-1 (Borealis) Quadrangle of Mercury; credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/USGS: courtesy IAU/USGS Astrogeology Science Center's Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/H-1.pdf

For further information:

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

Arvidson, Raymond; and Russell Wahmann, comps. Reports of Planetary Geology Program, 1976-1977. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Technical Memorandum TM X-3511. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, May 1977.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uiug.30112106722439

Boyce, J. M. (Joseph M), and Grolier, M. (Maurice), 1977, "The Geology of the Goethe (H-l) Quadrangle of Mercury." In: Richard Arvidson and Wahmann, Russell, comps., Reports of Planetary Geology Program, 1976–1977, Chapter 10 Part B Mercury: 237. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Technical Memorandum X-3511. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, May 1977.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uiug.30112106722439?urlappend=%3Bseq=251

Davies, Merton E.; Stephen E. Dwornik; Donald E. Gault; and Robert G. Strom. "H-1 Borealis Area." Atlas of Mercury: 26-31. 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/h1.htm

Grolier, Maurice J.; and Joseph M. Boyce. Mercury Geologic Map of the Borealis Region. IMAP 1660. H-1. Atlas of Mercury 1:5,000,000 Geologic Series. Prepared for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Arlington VA: U.S. Geological Survey, Nov. 23, 1984.
Available via USGS Astrogeology Science Center's Astropedia Web Portal @ https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/Mercury/Geology/Mercury-Geologic-Map-of-the-Borealis-Region
Available via USGS Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/i1660

International Astronomical Union. Information Bulletin, no. 108. July 2011. Paris, France: Printed on behalf of IAU Secretariat by Presse Pluriel, July 12, 2011.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/static/publications/IB108.pdf

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Goethe.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated March 7, 2011.
https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2204

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Tryggvadóttir.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mercury. Last updated Aug. 6, 2012.
https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/15026

Jenner, Lynn, page ed. "As Goethe as It Gets." NASA > Missions > MESSENGER > Multimedia > Featured Image. March 29, 2012.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/messenger/multimedia/messenger_orbit_image_20120420_1.html

Jenner, Lynn, page ed. "Permanently Shadowed Polar Craters." NASA > Missions > MESSENGER > Multimedia > Featured Image. Last updated Nov. 29, 2012.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/messenger/multimedia/PressConf20121126_3.html

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

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Marriner, Derdriu. "Mercury's Munch Crater Honors Norwegian Painter Edvard Munch." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/01/mercurys-munch-crater-honors-norwegian.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

Marriner, Derdriu. "Stieglitz Crater Honors American Photographer Alfred Stieglitz." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, July 10, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/07/stieglitz-crater-honors-american.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Stieglitz Crater Hosts Radar Bright Materials in Shadowed Areas." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, July 17, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/07/rare-simultaneous-mercury-and-venus.html

Montmerle, Thierry, ed. IAU Transactions: XXVIII B Proceedings of the XXVIIIth General Assembly Beijing, China Nanjing, August 20-31, 2012. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press, Sept. 15, 2015.
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Moore, Patrick, trans. The planet Mercury [by] E.M. Antoniadi. Translated from the French. Shaldon, England: K. Reid, 1974.

Murray, Bruce C.; Michael J.S. Belton; G. Edward Danielson; Merton E. Davies; Donald E. Gault; Bruce Hapke; Brian O'Leary; Robert G. Strom; Verner Suomi; and Newell Trask. "Mercury's Surface: Preliminary Description and Interpretation From Mariner 10 Pictures." Science, vol. 185, no. 4146 (July 12, 1974): 169–179.
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Ostrach, Lillian R.; Scott C. Mest; Louise M. Prockter; Noah E. Petro; and Paul K. Byrne. "Finalizing the Geologic Map of the Borealis Quadrangle (H-1) on Mercury." 51st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, The Woodlands, Texas, March 16–20, 2020.
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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.
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Strom, Robert G.; Bruce C. Murray; Michael J. S. Belton; G. Edward Danielson; Merton E. Davies; Donald E. Gault; Bruce Hapke; Brian O'Leary; Newell Trask; John E. Guest; James Anderson; and Kenneth Klaasen. "Preliminary Imaging Results From the Second Mercury Encounter." JGR Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 80, issue 17 (June 10, 1975): 2345-2356.
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U.S. Geological Survey. Shaded Relief Map of the Borealis Area of Mercury (Borea Albedo Province). IMAP 1056 H-1. Atlas of Mercury 1:5,000,000 Topographic Series. Prepared on behalf of the Planetology Programs Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Reston VA: U.S. Geological Survey, Oct. 16, 1977.
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Wood, C.A. (Charles A.); and J.W. (James W.) Head. "Comparison of Impact Basins on Mercury, Mars and the Moon." In: Lunar Science Institute, Proceedings of the Seventh Lunar Science Conference, vol. 3 (1976): 3629-3651.
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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

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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

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/979

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

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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

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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/

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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

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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.
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Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/all-about-that-basin

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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:

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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.
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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