Earth and Space News

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:

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

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.” 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 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 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. “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. “Target: The Moon.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/MOON/target

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).
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/annalesduservice78egyp/page/n275

Lehoux, Daiyn Rosario. “I: Harkhebi, Astrometeorologist.” Pages 192-196. Parapegmata, or, Astrology, Weather, and Calendars in the Ancient World. Chapter Eight Egyptian Astrometeorology: 189-214. Ph.D. Thesis for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto, 2000.
Available @ https://www.academia.edu/36454525/Book_Parapegmata_astrometeorology_in_the_ancient_world_greek

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

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

The Moon Wiki. “Fabry.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > F Nomenclature.
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

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

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

Schaefer, Bradley E. “The Heliacal Rising of Sirius and Ancient Egyptian Chronology.” Journal for the History of Astronomy, vol. XXXI, issue 2 (May 2000): 149-155.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2000JHA....31..149S
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/2000JHA....31..149S

Wayman, P. (Patrick), ed. XVIIth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. XVII B 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 via IAU @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Erlanger Crater Honors American Physiologist Joseph Erlanger

Summary: Erlanger Crater honors American physiologist Joseph Erlanger, joint 1944 Nobel Laureate with Herbert Gasser for their nerve fiber discoveries.

Image of Erlanger Crater, obtained by LROC Narrow Angle Camera, reveals the near side north polar crater’s permanently shadowed interior floor and sunlight-illuminated rim; NASA / GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) / Arizona State University: Public Domain, via NASA

Erlanger Crater honors American physiologist Joseph Erlanger, who was the joint recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1944 for nerve fiber discoveries.

Erlanger is a lunar impact crater that lies close to the north pole in the near side’s northeastern quadrant. Planetary geologist Brett Denevi identifies Erlanger as numbering among lunar craters with floors completely, muchly or somewhat permanently shadowed. Shadowed craters are known as craters of eternal darkness. The sun’s position near the horizon accounts for the lack of illumination.

Erlanger is centered at 86.99 degrees north latitude, 28.62 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The north polar crater obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 87.17 degrees north and 86.81 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at 32.05 degrees east and 25.18 degrees east, respectively. Erlanger Crater has a diameter of 10.94 kilometers.

Peary is Erlanger’s nearest named northern neighbor. Peary’s location places the worn crater near the near side’s eastern limb.

Peary is centered at 88.63 degrees north latitude, 24.4 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes stretch from 89.92 degrees north and 87.33 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 95.2 degrees east and minus 46.4 degrees west longitude, respectively. Peary Crater’s diameter measures 78.75 kilometers.

Fibiger is one of Erlanger’s two nearest named southern neighbors. Fibiger lies to the southeast of Erlanger.

Fibiger is centered at 86.14 degrees north latitude, 37.13 degrees east longitude. It finds northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 86.46 degrees north and 85.82 degrees north, respectively. Fibiger marks easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 41.72 degrees east and 32.73 degrees east, respectively. Fibiger has a diameter of 21.1 kilometers.

Byrd is one of Erlanger’s two nearest named southern neighbors. Byrd lies to the southwest of Erlanger.

Byrd is centered at 85.43 degrees north latitude, 10.07 degrees east longitude. The irregular lunar crater posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 87.01 degrees north and 83.85 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend from 28.85 degrees east to minus 7.42 degrees west, respectively. Byrd’s diameter spans 97.49 kilometers.

Erlanger Crater honors American physiologist Joseph Erlanger (Jan. 5, 1874-Dec. 5, 1965). The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved Erlanger as the crater’s official name on Jan. 22, 2009.

Erlanger received his medical degree in 1899 from Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore, Maryland. He was admitted into the third class of the newly organized institution, according to American physiologist and otolaryngologist Hallowell Davis (Aug. 31, 1896-Aug. 22, 1992) in the 1970 issue of the National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs. Erlanger graduated second in his medical class.

After graduation, Erlanger favored teaching and research over a medical practice. He held a one-year internship under Sir William Osler (July 12, 1849-Dec. 29, 1919). The Canadian physician numbered among the “Big Four” founding physicians at the May 7, 1889, opening of the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Erlanger taught and researched physiology (Ancient Greek: φύσις, physis, “nature, origin” and -λογία, -logia, “study of”), the study of a living system’s functions and mechanisms, for six years at Johns Hopkins Medical School. His research yielded publications on such topics as canine metabolism; mammal heart-block, also known as abnormal heart rhythm; human blood pressure and the physiology of the circulatory system.

Erlanger accepted the first chair of physiology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1906. He remained there for four years. One of his students was Herbert Spencer Gasser (July 5, 1888-May 11, 1963).

In 1910, Erlanger relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, to pioneer Washington University School of Medicine’s Physiology Department. In 1916, his former student, Herbert Gasser, who had received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1915, joined Erlanger in Washington University’s Physiology Department.

In the 1920s, Erlanger and Gasser researched nerve fibers. Differentiating between to differently thickened nerve fibers, they determined that faster signal conveyance occurs in the thicker of the two fiber types.

The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute jointly awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physiology of Medicine to Erlanger and Gasser. The Nobel Prize webpage notes the prize motivation as recognition of “. . . their discoveries relating to the highly differentiated functions of single nerve fibres.”

The takeaways for Erlanger Crater, which honors American physiologist Joseph Erlanger, are that the lunar impact crater occupies the near side’s north polar region; that Erlanger Crater’s polar region placement, where the sun hovers near the horizon, keeps its interior floor in permanent shadow; that the crater’s namesake and his research partner, Herbert Gasser, discerned the connection between nerve fiber diameter and signal conduction velocity; and that Karolinska Institute’s Nobel Assembly jointed awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Erlanger and Gasser for their nerve fiber discoveries.

Detail of Lunar Astronautical Chart (LAC) 1 shows Erlanger Crater as a near side north polar region crater, with nearest named neighbors Byrd and Fibiger to the southwest and southeast, respectively, and Peary to the north; 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

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Image of Erlanger Crater obtained by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) reveals "eternal darkness near the North Pole" with illumination of a "small portion of the rim" and much of the floor "in permanent shadow due to its location near the north pole"; NASA ID PIA12899; image addition date 2009-08-24; image credit NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12899;
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/PIA12899

Chase, Merrill W.; and Carlton C. Hunt. “Herbert Spencer Gasser 1888-1963.” National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs, vol. 67 (1995): 147-177. Washington DC: National Academy of Sciences, 1970.
Available @ http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/gasser-herbert.pdf

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

Corbett, Ian F., ed. XXVIIth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. XVII B Proceedings of the 27th General Assembly Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 3-14, 2009. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press, May 19, 2010.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

Davis, Hallowell. “Joseph Erlanger 1874-1965.” National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs, vol. 41 (1970): 111-139. Washington DC: National Academy of Sciences, 1970.
Available via NAS (National Academy of Sciences) Online @ http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/erlanger-joseph.pdf

Denevi, Brett. “Eternal Darkness Near the North Pole.” LROC (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera) > posts. Aug. 24, 2009.
Available @ http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/posts/96

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. “Byrd.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/941

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Erlanger.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14525

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Fibiger.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14526

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Peary.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/4627

Keeter, Bill, ed. “Image of the Crater Erlanger.” NASA > Missions > Current Missions > Mini-RF > Multimedia. Last updated Aug. 20, 2009.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/Mini-RF/multimedia/erlanger_crater.html

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Nobel Prize. “Joseph Erlanger: Biographical.” The Nobel Prize > Prizes > Medicine > 1944.
Available @ https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1944/erlanger/facts/

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Available @ https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1944/erlanger/facts/

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Saturday, January 7, 2012

North American Crow Habitats: Black Bodies, Cup Nests, Green Eggs

Summary: North American crow habitats summers and year-round in Canada and in the United States produce black bodies from green eggs in cup nests.

American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos); Seattle, King County, northwestern Washington; Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011, 10:58: Ingrid Taylar from Seattle, WA, USA, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

North American crow habitats appall arborists, master gardeners and master naturalists through Corvidae family wildlife associations with crop raids and noisy communal roosts within distribution ranges in Canada and the United States.

American crows bear their common name from North American distribution ranges and 20-plus harsh, loud, rapid calls and the scientific name Corvus brachyrhynchos as short-beaked ravens. Ornithologists consider hargravei, hesperis and pascuus subspecies since Christian Ludwig Brehm's (Jan. 24, 1787-June 23, 1864) classification in 1822 of the nominate Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos subspecies. Bill shapes, body sizes and distribution ranges decide American crow subdivisions as eastern large-sized brachyrhynchos, Florida mid-sized pascuus, southern small-sized hargravei and western small-sized hesperis subspecies.

Fifteen-year lifespans expect farm woodlots, forest and woodland edges, open forests and woodlands, orchards, tree-edged, tree-scattered backyards, farmlands, grasslands and parklands and wooded islands and suburbs.

January through June facilitate brooding one three- to eight-egg clutch, followed by another in southern states, at ground-level or 10- to 70-foot (3.05- to 21.34-meter) heights.

Parents-to-be generate earth-lined, mud-bound, 9-inch- (22.86-centimeter-) high, 4.5-inch- (11.43-centimeter-) deep, 6- by 7-inch (15.24- by 17.78-centimeter) inner, 22- by 26-inch (55.88- by 66.04-centimeter) outer diameter nests. Bark-, stick-, twig-, vine-held, bark-, feather-, fur-, grass-, hair-, moss-, root-lined cup nests honed in 12 days house semi-glossy, smooth to semi-rough, subelliptical to oval eggs. Mothers-to-be implement 16- to 18-day incubations before the last 1.42- to 1.85-inch- (36- to 47-millimeter-) long, 1.02- to 1.22-inch- (26- to 31-millimeter-) wide egg is laid.

Eagles, great horned owls, peregrine falcons, raccoons, ravens, red-tailed hawks and snakes jeopardize North American crow habitats seasonally and year-round in Canada and the United States.

Initiation of incubation keeps a three-day difference between the first and the last black-olive, gray, olive, olive-brown, purple-blotched, speckled, spotted, blue-green, gray-green or olive-green egg's hatching.

The skin of blind, clumsy, helpless, naked hatchlings looks at first pink or pink-flesh and then brown-gray until sparse downy coats leave heads and upper-parts gray-brown. Nestlings manage on care, food and guidance from monogamous parents and the previous year's offspring while feathering as 20- to 30-day-olds and leaving nests as 35-day-olds. Adults need acorns, barley, beans, beechnuts, buckwheat, clams, corn, crayfish, fish, frogs, insects, mice, mussels, peas, pumpkin, rabbits, sorghum, spiders, squash, turtles, walnuts, wheat and worms.

North American crow habitats offer winter's coldest temperature ranges, from Newfoundland through Florida, at minus 45 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 42.77 to 1.66 degrees Celsius).

Almond, apple, bayberry, cedar, cherry, cranberry, dogwood, fig, five-finger, grape, hemlock, juniper, maple, oak, pine, poison-ivy, poison-oak, pokeberry, sour-gum, sumac, walnut and winterberry promote American crows.

Black bills, brown narrow, pointed tails, brown wings, dull black, fluffy, loose, non-glossy plumage, eyes browning from gray-blue and mouths blackening from red quicken juvenile identifications. Black bills, feet, heads, legs, tails and underparts, finger-like wingtip feathers, green-shining black upper-parts and round- or square-ended short tails reveal broad-, round-winged, dark-eyed, thick-necked adults. Non-soaring, slow, steady flapping on 33.47- to 39.37-inch (85- to 100-centimeter) wingspans suggest 15.75- to 20.87-inch (40- to 53-centimeter), 11.15- to 22.05-ounce (316- to 625-gram) adults.

North American crow habitats transmit 20-plus calls, from begging, high-pitched, nasal sounds by nestlings to extended, grating, harsh, hoarse, loud, rambling caws, clicks, coos and rattles.

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos); Seattle, King County, northwestern Washington; Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011, 10:58: Ingrid Taylar from Seattle, WA, USA, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corvus_brachyrhynchos_-Seattle,_Washington,_USA-8_(1).jpg

American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) egg in permanent collection of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis: Michelle Pemberton/The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Childrens_Museum_of_Indianapolis_-_American_crow_egg.jpg

For further information:

Baicich, Paul J.; and Harrison, Colin J.O. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Second edition. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, Princeton Field Guides, 2005.

Brehm, Christian Ludwig. 1822. "Corvus corone Weiß = Corvus brachyrhynchos." Beiträge zur Vögelkunde in vollstandigen Beschreibungen mehrerer neu Entdeckter und vieler seltener oder nicht gehörig beobachteter deutscher Vögel, zweiter band: 56. Neustadt-an-der-Orla, Germany: J.K.G. Wagner.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33116043

Coues, Elliott. January 1899. "The Finishing Stroke to Bartram: C. a. pascuus." The Auk, vol. XVI (old series vol. XXIII), no. 1 (January-March): 84.
Available via SORA (Searchable Ornithological Research Archive) @ https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v016n01/p0083-p0084.pdf

Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2nd edition. Volumes 8-11, Birds I-IV, edited by Michael Hutchins, Jerome A. Jackson, Walter J. Bock and Donna Olendorf. Farmington Hills MI: Gale Group, 2002.

Peterson, Alan P., M.D. "Corvus brachyrhynchos Brehm, CL 1822." Zoonomen: Zoological Nomenclature Resource > Birds of the World -- Current Valid Scientific Avian Names > Passeriformes > Corvidae > Corvus.
Available @ http://www.zoonomen.net/avtax/pass.html

Phillips, Alan R. (Robert). October 1942. "A New Crow From Arizona: Corvus brachyrhynchos hargravei subsp. nov." The Auk, vol. 59, no. 4 (October-December): 574-575. Lancaster PA: The American Ornithologists' Union
Available via SORA (Searchable Ornithological Research Archive) @ https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v059n04/p0573-p0575.pdf

Ridgway, Robert. 1887. "C. americanus hesperis Ridgw. California Crow." A Manual of North American Birds, page 362. Philadelphia PA: J.B. Lippincott.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7567617

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Near Side Lunar Crater Swift Honors American Astronomer Lewis Swift

Summary: Near side lunar Crater Swift honors American astronomer Lewis Swift, whose nebula discoveries were exceeded only by Sir William and Sir John Herschel.

Detail of Near Side Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography shows Swift Crater (center left) in Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises) in lunar near side’s northeastern quadrant; the primary crater was formerly designated, under the name of Peirce B, as a satellite of Peirce Crater (center left): U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Near side lunar Crater Swift honors American astronomer Lewis Swift, who ranks as the third most prolific nebulae discoverer, after first-place holder German-British astronomer Sir William Herschel (Nov. 15, 1738-Aug. 25, 1822) and his son, Sir John Herschel (March 7, 1792-May 11, 1871).

Swift Crater presents a bowl-shaped formation. Sloping interior walls emphasize a small floor at the crater’s midpoint.

Swift Crater is centered at 19.35 degrees north latitude, 53.44 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater records northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 19.51 degrees north and 19.18 degrees north, respectively. The eastern hemisphere crater registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 53.62 degrees east and 53.27 degrees east, respectively. Near side circular lunar crater Swift’s diameter measures 10.06 kilometers.

The small lunar impact crater lies in northwestern Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises) in the lunar near side’s northeastern quadrant. Mare Crisium is centered at 16.18 degrees north latitude, 59.1 degrees east longitude. The dark, basaltic plain’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 24.53 degrees north and 9.69 degrees north, respectively. The lunar mare’s easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 68.53 degrees east and 49.51 degrees east, respectively. Mare Crisium’s diameter spans 555.92 kilometers.

Swift Crater lies to the north of Peirce Crater. Peirce’s distinctive features include a roughly bowl-shaped rim with an outwardly bulging northwestern rim, a central peak near the crater’s interior midpoint and a craterlet along Peirce’s inner southeastern wall.

Peirce Crater is centered at 18.26 degrees north latitude, 53.35 degrees east longitude. Peirce’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 18.58 degrees north and 17.95 degrees north, respectively. The small lunar crater obtains easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 53.68 degrees east and 53.03 degrees east, respectively. Peirce has a diameter of 18.86 kilometers.

The International Astronomical Union officially approved Swift Crater’s name in 1976, during the organization’s XVIth (16th) General Assembly, held Tuesday, Aug. 24, to Tuesday, Sept. 21, in Grenoble, France. Lunar Crater Swift honors 19th-century American astronomer Lewis A. Swift (Feb. 29, 1820-Jan. 5, 1913).

Swift Crater’s name approval in 1976 entailed an upgrade in the crater’s status to primary crater. Prior to its official name change, Swift Crater was thought to be a satellite crater, with Peirce Crater as its parent body. As a satellite, Swift was designated as Peirce B.

The International Astronomical Union approved primary crater Peirce’s name in 1935, during the organization’s Vth (5th) General Assembly, held in Paris, France, from Wednesday, July 10, to Wednesday, July 17. Lunar Crater Peirce honors 19th-century American mathematician Benjamin Peirce (April 4, 1809-Oct. 6, 1880).

Lewis Swift specialized in discovering comets and nebulae. He is credited with discovering 15 comets and 1,342 new nebulae, according to a Rochester Post-Express article that was printed in the Feb. 2, 1902, issue of The New York Times. The tally is given as 13 comets and 1,248 nebulae in the Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers (2007 edition). Swift’s nebula discoveries have earned for the conscientious observational astronomer recognition as history’s third most prolific discoverer of nebulae. German-British observational astronomer Sir William Herschel (Nov. 15, 1738-Aug. 25, 1822) rates as Earth’s most successful nebulae discoverer, with 2,500 nebular finds to his credit.

The takeaways for near side lunar Crater Swift, which honors 19th-century American astronomer Lewis Swift, are that the small lunar crater has a bowl-shaped formation, with inner walls sloping to a small floor; that, prior to official naming as primary lunar Crater Swift in 1976, the Mare Crisium-based crater was thought to be nearby Peirce Crater’s satellite, designated as Peirce B; and that Swift Crater's namesake is rated as history's third-most prolific nebulae discoverer.

Detail of Apollo 17 image, taken Dec. 14, 1972, at a spacecraft altitude of 112.25 kilometers, during lunar orbit 49, with black and white panoramic camera, gives oblique view, looking north, of Swift Crater in Mare Crisium; NASA ID AS17-P-2691; Apollo Image Archive, NASA / JSC (Johnson Space Center) / Arizona State University: JStuby (James L. Stuby), 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:

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

Dodge, Russ. “Lewis A. Swift.” Find A Grave > Memorial > 23382. July 24, 2001.
Available @ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23382/lewis-a_-swift

Elger, Thomas Gwyn. “Peirce.” The Moon: A Full Description and Map of Its Principal Physical Features: 42-43. London UK: George Philip & Son, 1895.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/moonfulldescript00elgerich/page/42

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Mare Crisium.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3671

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Swift.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5788

Kronk, Gary W. Lewis Swift: Celebrated Comet Hunter and the People’s Astronomer. Historical and Cultural Astronomy Series. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2017.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=kas2DwAAQBAJ

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

Marriner, Derdriu. “Herschel Crater Hosts Eight Satellites in South Central Lunar Near Side.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/08/herschel-crater-hosts-eight-satellites.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Lunar Crater Herschel Honors German-British Astronomer William Herschel.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/08/lunar-crater-herschel-honors-german.html

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

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

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

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

Müller, E. (Edith); and A. (Arnost) Jappel, eds. XVIth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. XVI B Proceedings of the 16th General Assembly Grenoble, France, August 24-September 21, 1976. Cambridge UK: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Jan. 1, 1977.
Available via IAU @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/
Available via The Moon Wiki @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/IAU_Transactions_XVIB

Nautical Almanac Offices of the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Ephemeris and the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac. London UK: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1961.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/astronomicalalmanac1961/

Nelson, Edmund. “Peirce (N.) [Picard A, M.].” The Moon and the Condition and Configurations of its Surface: 148. London UK: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1876.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/moonconditioncon00neis/page/148

The Rochester Post-Express. “Prof. Lewis Swift.” The New York Times. Feb. 2, 1902.
Available @ https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1902/02/02/101932831.pdf

See, T.J.J. (Thomas Jefferson Jackson). “The Services of Benjamin Peirce to American Mathematics and Astronomy.” Popular Astronomy, vol. III, no. 2, whole no. 22 (October 1895): 49-57.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1895PA......3...49S
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1895PA......3...49S

Sheehan, William. "Swift, Lewis." The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. New York NY: Springer Science+Business Media, 2007.
Available @ https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-0-387-30400-7_1353

Stratton, F.J.M. (Frederick John Marrian), ed. Vth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. V B Proceedings of the 5th General Assembly Paris France, July 10-17, 1935. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press, Jan. 1, 1936.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

Swift, L. (Lewis), Dr. “Note From Dr. L. Swift.” The Astronomical Journal, vol. XVII, no. 385 (Oct. 6, 1896): 8.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/umn.31951000602183r?urlappend=%3Bseq=254

Swift, Lewis. “Catalogue No. 1 for 1900.0 of Nebulas, Discovered at the Lowe Observatory, California.” The Astronomical Journal, vol. XVII, no. 388 (Nov. 13, 1896): 27-28.
Available @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/umn.31951000602183r?urlappend=%3Bseq=275

Swift, Lewis. “Catalogue No. 8 of Nebulae Discovered at the Warner Observatory.” Astronomische Nachrichten, band 122 (enthaltend die Nummern 2905-2928), issue 14, no. 2918: 241-246. Kiel (Germany): Drück von C. Schaidt, C.F. Mohr Nachf., 1889.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/seri/AN.../0122//0000128.000.html
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/seri/AN.../0122//0000128.000.html

Wlasuk, Peter T. “’So Much for Fame!’: The Story of Lewis Swift.” Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 37.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1996QJRAS..37..683W
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1996QJRAS..37..683W

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Apollo 8 Was Only, Second and Third Flight for Anders, Borman and Lovell

Summary: Lunar-orbiting mission Apollo 8 was the only, second and third flight for Anders, Borman and Lovell, respectively.

Apollo 8 astronauts (left to right) Command Module Pilot (CMP) James Lovell Jr., Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) William Anders and Commander Frank Borman stand beside the Kennedy Space Center’s (KSC) Apollo Mission Simulator, Nov. 13, 1968; NASA ID S68-50265: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA Human Spaceflight

First crewed, lunar-orbiting mission Apollo 8 was the only, second and third flight for Anders, Borman and Lovell, respectively, and marked the second spaceflight mission shared by Borman and Lovell.

The three astronauts launched from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) John F. Kennedy Space Center on Florida’s Merritt Island Saturday, Dec. 21, 1968. The Apollo 8 spacecraft successfully completed the mission’s objective of 10 lunar orbits. The mission’s command module splashed down Friday, Dec. 27, in the North Pacific Ocean. Mission duration was 6 days 3 hours 0 minutes 42 seconds.

Frank Frederick Borman II (born March 14, 1928) led Apollo 8 as the prime crew’s Commander. James “Jim” Arthur Lovell Jr. (born March 25, 1928) flew as the Command Module Pilot (CMP). William Alison Anders (born Oct. 17, 1933) was designated as Lunar Module Pilot (LMP), even though Apollo 8 did not carry a lunar module (LM). Anders served as the mission’s primary photographer.

Air Force test pilot Frank Borman entered NASA via Astronaut Group 2, also known as the New Nine or the Next Nine. On Wednesday, Sept. 17, 1962, NASA publicly introduced the nine selectees, who included Navy pilot James “Jim” Arthur Lovell Jr. (born March 25, 1928), at the University of Houston’s Cullen Performance Hall.

The first spaceflight for both Borman and Lovell occurred during the Gemini VII (Gemini 7) mission. Gemini 7 (Dec. 4-Dec. 18, 1965) flew as the Gemini spaceflight program’s fourth crewed flight.

In an interview April 13, 1999, for the Johnson Space Center’s Oral History Project, Borman explained his decision to make Apollo 8 his second and last spaceflight. He had joined NASA “. . . to participate in the Apollo Program, the lunar program, and hopefully beat the Russians. I never looked at it for any individual goals. I never wanted to be the first person on the Moon . . .” (page 12-6).

Assignment as Command Pilot for Gemini XII (Gemini 12) occasioned James Lovell’s second spaceflight. The 10th and final crewed Gemini flight started Friday, Nov. 11, 1966, and ended Tuesday, Nov. 15.

Lovell’s fourth and last spaceflight was via Apollo 13, the “lost moon” mission. A cryogenic oxygen tank explosion had compelled returning to Earth without a lunar landing.

In his NASA Oral History interview May 25, 1999, Lovell enthusiastically recalled Apollo 8. “We saw the far side of the Moon, which no had ever seen, you know, before. Live,” Lovell noted. “That was the high point of my career. And I can agree with a lot of people at NASA. I think that was the high point of NASA’s career, too” (pages 12-66, 12-67).

Air Force fighter pilot William Anders joined NASA as one of 14 selectees in Astronaut Group 3. NASA publicly announced The Fourteen Friday, Oct. 18, 1963, at Houston’s Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), known since Monday, Feb. 19, 1973, as the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC).

Participation in the Apollo 8 mission garnered for Anders his only spaceflight. Prior to Apollo 8, he had been designated as Pilot for the backup crew of the Gemini XI (Gemini 11) mission Gemini 11 (Sept. 12-Sept. 15, 1966).

After Apollo 8, Anders was assigned as Command Module Pilot in the backup crew for lunar-landing mission Apollo 11 (July 16-July 24, 1969). His participation in the backup crew reunited him with Lovell, who was designated as Commander of the backup crew.

In his NASA Oral History interview Oct. 8, 1997, Anders described his NASA career as channeling him away from his interests in lunar landing and geology and toward command module expertise. He explained: “. . . and the hook there was that the more expert I became in the Command Module, the more I became welded to the Command Module [and] Command Module guys . . . don’t land.” As for his only spaceflight, Anders observed: “So I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to participate on man’s first flight away from [our] own planet but I would have traded the last lunar landing for the first flight away from the planet” (page 12-10).

The takeaways for Apollo 8 as only, second and third flight for Anders, Borman and Lovell are that Anders only flew via Apollo 8, that Borman made both his spaceflights with Lovell and that Lovell’s later command of Apollo 13 marked his fourth and last spaceflight.

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Apollo 8 astronauts (left to right) Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot (CMP) James Lovell Jr. and Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) William Anders stand in foreground as Apollo space vehicle (Spacecraft 103/Saturn 503) leaves Kennedy Space Center’s (KSC) Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for transport to Launch Complex 39, Pad A: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA Human Spaceflight @ https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo8/html/s68-49397.html; via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/9351677598; via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Apollo_8_prime_crew_stands_in_foreground_as_the_Apollo_space_vehicle.jpg

For further information:

Borman, Frank; and Robert J. Serling. Countdown: An Autobiography. New York NY: Silver Arrow, 1988.

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

Godwin, Robert, comp. and ed. Apollo 8: The NASA Mission Reports. Second edition. Burlington, Canada: Apogee Books, 1971.

Harwood, Catherine. “Frank Borman Oral History Interviews.” NASA History Portal > NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. April 13, 1999.
Available @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/BormanF/bormanff.htm

Kluger, Jeffrey. Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon. New York NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2017.

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

Lovell, Jim; and Jeffrey Kluger. Apollo 13. First Mariner Books edition. Boston MA; New York NY: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.

Lovell, Jim; and Jeffrey Kluger. Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13. Boston MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1994.

Marriner, Derdriu. “First Crewed Lunar Orbiting Mission Apollo 8 Launched Dec. 21, 1968.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/12/first-crewed-lunar-orbiting-mission.html

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

Orloff, Richard W. “Apollo 8 The Second Mission: Testing the CSM in Lunar Orbit.” Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference: 31-50. NASA History Series. NASA SP 4029. Washington DC: NASA Headquarters Office of Policy and Plans, 2000.
Available via NASA History @ https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029.pdf

Rollins, Paul. “William A. Anders Oral History Interviews.” NASA History Portal > NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. Oct. 8, 1997.
Available @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/AndersWA/anderswa.htm

Stone, Ron. “James A. Lovell Oral History Interviews.” NASA History Portal > NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. May 25, 1999.
Available @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/LovellJA/lovellja.htm

Williams, David R.; and E. (Edwin) Bell II, cur. “Apollo 8.” NASA Goddard Space Flight Center > NMC (NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive Master Catalog) > Spacecraft. Version 5.1.2.
Available @ https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1969-043A