Giordano Bruno (crater)
Giordano Bruno is a 22-kilometre (14 mi) lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the northeastern limb. It lies in an area that can be viewed during a favorable libration, although the area is viewed from the side and not much detail can be seen. It lies between the craters Harkhebi to the northwest and Szilard to the southeast.[1]
 Giordano Bruno. NASA photo | |
| Coordinates | 35.9°N 102.8°E |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 22.13 km |
| Depth | Unknown |
| Colongitude | 258° at sunrise |
| Eponym | Giordano Bruno |
When viewed from orbit, Giordano Bruno is at the center of a symmetrical ray system of ejecta that has a higher albedo than the surrounding surface. The ray material extends for over 150 kilometres (93 mi) and has not been significantly darkened by space erosion. Some of the ejecta appear to extend as far as the crater Boss, over 300 kilometres (190 mi) to the northwest. The outer rim of the crater is especially bright compared to its surroundings. To all appearances, this is a young formation that was created in the relatively recent past, geologically speaking. Based on photos from a lunar orbiter, the crater's age has been estimated at 4 million years.[2]
This feature was named after Italian intellectual Giordano Bruno.
Formation
Five monks from Canterbury reported to the abbey's chronicler, Gervase, that shortly after sunset on 18 June 1178, they saw "the upper horn [of the moon] split in two". Furthermore, Gervase writes:
From the midpoint of the division a flaming torch sprang up, spewing out, over a considerable distance, fire, hot coals and sparks. Meanwhile the body of the Moon which was below writhed, as it were in anxiety, and to put it in the words of those who reported it to me and saw it with their own eyes, the Moon throbbed like a wounded snake. Afterwards it resumed its proper state. This phenomenon was repeated a dozen times or more, the flame assuming various twisting shapes at random and then returning to normal. Then, after these transformations, the Moon from horn to horn, that is along its whole length, took on a blackish appearance.[3]
In 1976, the geologist Jack B. Hartung proposed that this described the formation of the crater Giordano Bruno.[4]
Modern theories predict that a (conjectural) asteroid or comet impact on the Moon would create a plume of ejecta rising up from the surface, which is consistent with the monks' description.[5] The impact would be expected to perturb the Moon's motions, and laser rangefinding measurements of its libration in longitude were judged to be of the expected magnitude for such an event.[5] In addition, the location recorded fits in well with the crater's location. Additional evidence of Giordano Bruno's youth is its spectacular ray system. The ratio of the length of these rays to the diameter of the crater is the largest for a large crater on the Moon, suggesting it is the youngest such crater.[4] Because micrometeorites constantly rain down, they kick up enough dust to quickly (in geological terms) erode a ray system.[5]
However, these observations do not resolve the question of the crater's age. The expected odds of formation of a lunar crater of that size in the last 3,000 years are on the order of 0.1%.[4] The impact creating the 22-km-wide crater would have kicked up 10 million tonnes (10 billion kilograms) of debris, triggering a week-long, blizzard-like meteor storm on Earth – yet no accounts of such a noteworthy storm of unprecedented intensity are found in any known historical records, including the European, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese and Korean astronomical archives.[6] This discrepancy is a major objection to the theory that Giordano Bruno was formed at that time.[7] Also, much older craters, e.g., Tycho at 108 million years and Copernicus at an estimated 800 million years, still have prominent ray systems.
High-resolution images obtained by the Japanese satellite SELENE in 2008 were used to date the crater by counting the smaller craters within it and its ejecta deposits. This gave an age of 4+6
−3 million years, much too old for the hypothesis. Further scientific studies have strengthened this age.[2]
This raises the question of what the monks saw. An alternative theory holds that the monks just happened to be in the right place at the right time to see an exploding meteor coming at them and aligned with the Moon. This would explain why the monks were the only people known to have witnessed the event; such an alignment would only be observable from a specific spot on the Earth's surface.[8]
See also
- 5148 Giordano, asteroid
References
- "Giordano Bruno (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
- Morota, T.; Haruyama, J.; Miyamoto, H.; Honda, C.; Ohtake, M.; Yokota, Y.; Matsunaga, T.; Hirata, N.; Demura, H.; Takeda, H.; Ogawa, Y.; Kimura, J. (2009). "Formation age of the lunar crater Giordano Bruno". Meteoritics & Planetary Science. 44 (8): 1115–1120. Bibcode:2009M&PS...44.1115M. doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.2009.tb01211.x. S2CID 128669423.
- The Cosmic Winter, Clube and Napier. Blackwell Publishing, First Edition (May 1990)
- Jack B., Hartung (1976). "Was the Formation of a 20-km Diameter Impact Crater on the Moon Observed on June 18, 1178?". Meteoritics. 11 (3): 187–194. Bibcode:1976Metic..11..187H. doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1976.tb00319.x.
- Camale, O.; Mulholland, J. D. (1978). "Lunar Crater Giordano Bruno: A.D. 1178 Impact Observations Consistent with Laser Ranging Results". Science. 199 (4331): 875–87. Bibcode:1978Sci...199..875C. doi:10.1126/science.199.4331.875. JSTOR 1745270. PMID 17757584. S2CID 206570050.
- Kettlewell, Jo (1 May 2001). "Historic lunar impact questioned". BBC. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
- Stiles, Lori (20 April 2001). "What Medieval Witnesses Saw Was Not Big Lunar Impact, Grad Student Says". University of Arizona. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - Martel, Linda. "How Young is the Lunar Crater Giordano Bruno?". University of Hawaiʻi. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
Sources
- Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
- Blue, Jennifer (25 July 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 5 August 2007.
- Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
- Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
- McDowell, Jonathan (15 July 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
- Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID 122125855.
- Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
- Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
- Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
- Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
- Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
- Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.
External links
- AS08-12-2209, an excellent oblique view of the ray system with Lomonosov in the foreground, from Apollo 8
- Lunar probe Kaguya overflight of Giordano Bruno crater (video)
- Giordano Bruno, The Big Picture, LRO Featured Image, 26 June 2012
- Outside of Giordano Bruno, LRO Featured Image, 25 August 2011
