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Dizionario Della Nomenclatura Lunare

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Dizionario Della Nomenclatura Lunare Vincenzo Garofalo – Dizionario della nomenclatura lunare Vincenzo Garofalo Dizionario della nomenclatura lunare Edizione ampliata, riveduta e corretta L’unica completa, l’unica autorizzata 2ª ediz., Siracusa, febbraio 2013 [email protected] www.lulu.com - 1 - Vincenzo Garofalo – Dizionario della nomenclatura lunare - 2 - Vincenzo Garofalo – Dizionario della nomenclatura lunare Vincenzo Garofalo Dizionario della nomenclatura lunare Edizione ampliata, riveduta e corretta L’unica completa, l’unica autorizzata 2ª ediz., Siracusa, febbraio 2013 [email protected] www.lulu.com - 3 - Vincenzo Garofalo – Dizionario della nomenclatura lunare © 2013 by Vincenzo Garofalo Tutti i diritti riservati Prima edizione 2003 Edizione riveduta 2013 [email protected] - 4 - Vincenzo Garofalo – Dizionario della nomenclatura lunare INDICE Guida alla consultazione………………………………………………...… pag. 5 Breve storia della nomenclatura lunare..…...……………………………….. “ 7 Dizionario della nomenclatura lunare ..….…….…………………...….……. “ 16 Fonti bibliografiche…………………………………………………….……. “ 159 - 5 - Vincenzo Garofalo – Dizionario della nomenclatura lunare - 6 - Vincenzo Garofalo – Dizionario della nomenclatura lunare PREFAZIONE E GUIDA DA ALLA CONSULTAZIONE Il presente lavoro non ha alcuna pretesa di originalità. È il frutto di una ricerca quasi esclusivamente libresca: ci si è limitati a trovare e di volta in volta a sintetizzare, tradurre, contaminare varie fonti, componendole infine in un tutto organico. L’unico pregio che gli si può riconoscere è quello di avere riunito in un solo testo, pronto alla fruizione, una serie di dati, d’informazioni o di curiosità altrimenti sparse e non sempre facili da reperire. E non è poca cosa. Il destinatario più ovvio di questa fatica è l’appassionato di astronomia che osserva la Luna al telescopio e non si limita a un rapido sguardo (“che bellino!”), ma desidera rendersi conto di ciò che ha sotto gli occhi e accrescere le proprie conoscenze. Questa del 2013 è la 2ª edizione (riveduta, corretta e ampliata) della precedente del 2003. A parte brevi ritocchi operati nella sezione introduttiva (selenografia), essa è stata notevolmente arricchita in ciò che riguarda la nomenclatura non sopravvissuta di carte lunari precedenti quella del Riccioli, intendiamo quella di Gilbert, di van Langren e di Hevelius. Dopo una breve introduzione che ricostruisce la storia della toponomastica lunare, segue l’elenco delle principali formazioni, secondo l’ordine alfabetico. Per ogni voce si è fornito: • la natura dell’oggetto (cratere, solco, "mare", "palude", "promontorio", ecc.); • la posizione con le relative coordinate (di solito trascurate le frazioni di grado); • se ritenuto opportuno e nei casi più notevoli, l’età dei crateri, secondo una scala composta di 5 classi (classe I per i più recenti, V per i più antichi); • quando possibile, le misure: diametro del cratere, a esempio, altezza dei bastioni, estensione in kmq se si tratta di un "mare", lunghezza del solco, profondità della scarpata, ecc.); • limitatamente ai più interessanti oggetti, una succinta descrizione del loro aspetto; • spesso, anche se non sempre, l’indicazione di chi e quando ha assegnato un determinato nome; • la traduzione in italiano del nome latino o il nome per esteso del personaggio a cui è intitolata la formazione (chiarendo eventualmente chi si nasconde dietro un determinato pseudonimo o un nome d’arte); • notizie su quel personaggio (a esempio, Copernicus ) o su quella formazione terrestre (a esempio, Caucasus ) da cui è derivato il nome in questione. - 7 - Vincenzo Garofalo – Dizionario della nomenclatura lunare Per pura curiosità si è voluto includere - come già detto - anche un discreto numero di nomi ormai in disuso, ma che rivestono un valore storico, quali a esempio Mare Astronomicum , Sicilia Insula , Terra Sanitatis , ecc.). Si è pure accennato, qua e là, ai criteri seguiti dai vari "denominatori" nella scelta dei nomi. Si sono riportate in grassetto le voci alle quali è dedicata una specifica trattazione. L’elenco dei toponimi presi in considerazione è sostanzialmente quello della Mappa lunare Hallwag, integrato massicciamente con quello dell’Atlas of the Moon di A. Rückl, e con altri apporti provenienti da varie fonti, per le quali si veda la bibliografia. V. Garofalo - 8 - Vincenzo Garofalo – Dizionario della nomenclatura lunare BREVE STORIA DELLA NOMENCLATURA LUNARE Se osserviamo a occhio nudo la Luna piena, possiamo distinguere sul suo disco due zone di differente luminosità. Se poi dimentichiamo, anche per poco, ciò che abbiamo imparato del nostro satellite dai libri o da altre fonti, socchiudiamo gli occhi e ci affidiamo alla libera fantasia, di sicuro riusciamo a scorgervi le più strane figure, i soggetti più insoliti. Chi scrive, da ragazzino, vi vedeva un operaio con la sua pala alle prese con un mucchio di terra, molto simile a quello rappresentato sul cartello stradale "Lavori in corso". Data l’indeterminatezza dell’immagine, ognuno vi riscontra ciò che la sua storia personale e il suo mondo interiore gli suggeriscono. Fu così che, prima dell’invenzione del telescopio, qualcuno dotato di spiccata immaginazione credette di scorgere sul nostro satellite un uomo appoggiato ad un forcone, in ciò forse suggestionato dal racconto biblico ( Numeri 15:32-6), che parla di un uomo sorpreso a raccogliere legna nel giorno del sabato e lapidato per ordine di Mosè. Dante nella sua Divina Commedia ( Inferno XIX, 126) ci riferisce la credenza popolare secondo la quale nel disco lunare sarebbe rappresentato Caino con un fascio di spine. Avviene così che ancora oggi ad alcuni piace vedervi il bacio di due amanti. Ma già nell’antichità classica vi fu chi, come Plutarco , guardò la Luna con occhi più obbiettivi, convinto che essa fosse morfologicamente simile alla Terra, con lo stesso aspetto naturale, cioè con mari, pianure, montagne e vallate. Fu così, infine, che lo scienziato inglese William Gilbert , sempre prima che fosse inventato il telescopio, provò a tracciare l’antenata di tutte le mappe lunari: si era intorno all’anno 1600, ma la mappa sarebbe stata pubblicata solo nel 1651, 48 anni dopo la morte dell’autore. In essa si può riconoscere da una parte il Mare Imbrium , cioè delle Piogge, chiamato da Gilbert Regio Magna Orientalis , e dall’altra i mari Serenitatis (della Serenità) e Tranquillitatis (della Tranquillità) che insieme prendono il nome di Regio Magna Occidentalis . Come si vede, le zone scure, che oggi chiamiamo “mari”, per Gilbert sono “terre”. Perciò una buona porzione dell’attuale Oceanus Procellarum (delle Tempeste), quella più a occidente, viene detta Insula Longa , e un’altra maggiore, presso l’attuale M. Nubium (delle Nubi), prende il nome di Continens Meridionalis . Anche il M. Crisium (delle Crisi), denominato Britannia , e il M. Fœcunditatis (della Fecondità) vi sono ben identificabili; il M. Frigoris (del Freddo) è indicato come M. Borealis . Da rilevare che nella nostra mappa, e in tutte quelle che seguiranno fino al 1961, oriente e occidente sono convenzionalmente invertiti, in quanto riportati come li può vedere un osservatore dalla Terra. - 9 - Vincenzo Garofalo – Dizionario della nomenclatura lunare Un salto di qualità negli studi selenografici si ebbe con Galileo Galilei , che diresse il cannocchiale - di recente invenzione - verso il nostro satellite e ne dimostrò la natura montuosa; poi cercò di misurare l’altezza delle montagne lunari, imitato in ciò da alcuni suoi contemporanei e successori. Non risulta però che abbia assegnato alcun nome a una qualsiasi formazione. In questo si distinse invece il gesuita e astronomo fiammingo Michael Florent van Langren , latinamente detto Langrenus , che nel 1645 pubblicò una sua mappa lunare, dove introdusse circa 300 nomi per le principali formazioni. Per le regioni chiare usò nomi come Terra Honoris (dell’Onore) , T. Dignitatis (della Dignità), T. Sapientiæ (della Sapienza), T. Pacis (della Pace), T. Laboris (del Lavoro), T. Virtutis (della Virtù), T. Temperantiæ (della Temperanza), mentre chiamò le regioni scure, a torto ritenute grandi distese d’acqua, Oceanus Philippicus (in onore di Filippo IV di Spagna, alla cui corte l’Autore viveva), Mare Eugenianum (in onore di Isabella Clara Eugenia, regina dei Paesi Bassi Spagnoli), M. Belgicum, M. Borbonicum , M. Venetum , M. Austriacum , ecc.; figurava nella mappa anche un M. Astronomicum , oggi M. Frigoris (del Freddo) e infine un M. Langrenianum (oggi Fœcunditatis) con accanto il cratere Langrenus . Per i crateri furono adoperati nomi di importanti personaggi dell’epoca ( Ferdinado III , Luigi XIV, Christiano IV , Carlo I , Innocenzo X , Piccolomini , ecc.); per punte e promontori nomi di santi (San Domenico , San Ludovico , Sant’Ignazio , San Michele , Sant’Alberto , ecc.). Della nomenclatura di van Langren, l’unico nome "di acqua" che si è conservato è il Sinus Medius (Baia Centrale), così detto per la sua posizione, e sono andati perduti pure tutti i nomi "di terra". Infine la proposta di usare nomi di santi non ebbe favorevole accoglienza, perciò oggi ne troviamo solo alcuni: Theophilus (San Teofilo, patriarca d’Alessandria), Cyrillus (San Cirillo, anch’egli patriarca d’Alessandria) e Catharina (Santa Caterina d’Alessandria), che occupano posizioni vicine in prossimità del M. Nectaris ; a essi vanno aggiunti Isidorus (Sant’Isidoro di Siviglia), Ansgarius (Sant’Anscario, missionario franco) e Dionysius (San Dionisio o Dionigi l’Areopagita). Chi introdusse massicciamente i nomi "di acqua" nelle mappe lunari fu però l’astronomo
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