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Glossary Glossary
Glossary Glossary Albedo A measure of an object’s reflectivity. A pure white reflecting surface has an albedo of 1.0 (100%). A pitch-black, nonreflecting surface has an albedo of 0.0. The Moon is a fairly dark object with a combined albedo of 0.07 (reflecting 7% of the sunlight that falls upon it). The albedo range of the lunar maria is between 0.05 and 0.08. The brighter highlands have an albedo range from 0.09 to 0.15. Anorthosite Rocks rich in the mineral feldspar, making up much of the Moon’s bright highland regions. Aperture The diameter of a telescope’s objective lens or primary mirror. Apogee The point in the Moon’s orbit where it is furthest from the Earth. At apogee, the Moon can reach a maximum distance of 406,700 km from the Earth. Apollo The manned lunar program of the United States. Between July 1969 and December 1972, six Apollo missions landed on the Moon, allowing a total of 12 astronauts to explore its surface. Asteroid A minor planet. A large solid body of rock in orbit around the Sun. Banded crater A crater that displays dusky linear tracts on its inner walls and/or floor. 250 Basalt A dark, fine-grained volcanic rock, low in silicon, with a low viscosity. Basaltic material fills many of the Moon’s major basins, especially on the near side. Glossary Basin A very large circular impact structure (usually comprising multiple concentric rings) that usually displays some degree of flooding with lava. The largest and most conspicuous lava- flooded basins on the Moon are found on the near side, and most are filled to their outer edges with mare basalts. -
Feature of the Month – January 2016 Galilaei
A PUBLICATION OF THE LUNAR SECTION OF THE A.L.P.O. EDITED BY: Wayne Bailey [email protected] 17 Autumn Lane, Sewell, NJ 08080 RECENT BACK ISSUES: http://moon.scopesandscapes.com/tlo_back.html FEATURE OF THE MONTH – JANUARY 2016 GALILAEI Sketch and text by Robert H. Hays, Jr. - Worth, Illinois, USA October 26, 2015 03:32-03:58 UT, 15 cm refl, 170x, seeing 8-9/10 I sketched this crater and vicinity on the evening of Oct. 25/26, 2015 after the moon hid ZC 109. This was about 32 hours before full. Galilaei is a modest but very crisp crater in far western Oceanus Procellarum. It appears very symmetrical, but there is a faint strip of shadow protruding from its southern end. Galilaei A is the very similar but smaller crater north of Galilaei. The bright spot to the south is labeled Galilaei D on the Lunar Quadrant map. A tiny bit of shadow was glimpsed in this spot indicating a craterlet. Two more moderately bright spots are east of Galilaei. The western one of this pair showed a bit of shadow, much like Galilaei D, but the other one did not. Galilaei B is the shadow-filled crater to the west. This shadowing gave this crater a ring shape. This ring was thicker on its west side. Galilaei H is the small pit just west of B. A wide, low ridge extends to the southwest from Galilaei B, and a crisper peak is south of H. Galilaei B must be more recent than its attendant ridge since the crater's exterior shadow falls upon the ridge. -
Sky and Telescope
SkyandTelescope.com The Lunar 100 By Charles A. Wood Just about every telescope user is familiar with French comet hunter Charles Messier's catalog of fuzzy objects. Messier's 18th-century listing of 109 galaxies, clusters, and nebulae contains some of the largest, brightest, and most visually interesting deep-sky treasures visible from the Northern Hemisphere. Little wonder that observing all the M objects is regarded as a virtual rite of passage for amateur astronomers. But the night sky offers an object that is larger, brighter, and more visually captivating than anything on Messier's list: the Moon. Yet many backyard astronomers never go beyond the astro-tourist stage to acquire the knowledge and understanding necessary to really appreciate what they're looking at, and how magnificent and amazing it truly is. Perhaps this is because after they identify a few of the Moon's most conspicuous features, many amateurs don't know where Many Lunar 100 selections are plainly visible in this image of the full Moon, while others require to look next. a more detailed view, different illumination, or favorable libration. North is up. S&T: Gary The Lunar 100 list is an attempt to provide Moon lovers with Seronik something akin to what deep-sky observers enjoy with the Messier catalog: a selection of telescopic sights to ignite interest and enhance understanding. Presented here is a selection of the Moon's 100 most interesting regions, craters, basins, mountains, rilles, and domes. I challenge observers to find and observe them all and, more important, to consider what each feature tells us about lunar and Earth history. -
August 2017 Posidonius P & Luther
A PUBLICATION OF THE LUNAR SECTION OF THE A.L.P.O. EDITED BY: Wayne Bailey [email protected] 17 Autumn Lane, Sewell, NJ 08080 RECENT BACK ISSUES: http://moon.scopesandscapes.com/tlo_back.html FEATURE OF THE MONTH – AUGUST 2017 POSIDONIUS P & LUTHER Sketch and text by Robert H. Hays, Jr. - Worth, Illinois, USA March 5, 2017 01:28-01:48; UT, 15 cm refl, 170x, seeing 7-8/10. I drew these craters on the evening of March 4/5, 2017 while the moon was hiding some Hyades stars. This area is in northeast Mare Serenitatis west of Posidonius itself. Posidonius P is the largest crater on this sketch. The smaller crater south of P is Posidonius F and Posidonius G is the tiny pit to the north. There is a halo around Posidonius G, but this crater is noticeably north of the halo's center. A very low round swelling is northeast of Posidonius G. Luther is the crater well to the west of Posidonius P. All four of these craters are crisp, symmetric features, differing only in size. There are an assortment of elevations near Luther. The peak Luther alpha is well to the west of Luther, and showed dark shadowing at this time. All of the other features near Luther are more subtle than Luther alpha. One mound is between Luther and Luther alpha. Two more mounds are north of Luther, and a low ridge is just east of this crater. A pair of very low mounds are south of Luther. These are the vaguest features depicted here, and may be too conspicuous on the sketch. -
Water on the Moon, III. Volatiles & Activity
Water on The Moon, III. Volatiles & Activity Arlin Crotts (Columbia University) For centuries some scientists have argued that there is activity on the Moon (or water, as recounted in Parts I & II), while others have thought the Moon is simply a dead, inactive world. [1] The question comes in several forms: is there a detectable atmosphere? Does the surface of the Moon change? What causes interior seismic activity? From a more modern viewpoint, we now know that as much carbon monoxide as water was excavated during the LCROSS impact, as detailed in Part I, and a comparable amount of other volatiles were found. At one time the Moon outgassed prodigious amounts of water and hydrogen in volcanic fire fountains, but released similar amounts of volatile sulfur (or SO2), and presumably large amounts of carbon dioxide or monoxide, if theory is to be believed. So water on the Moon is associated with other gases. Astronomers have agreed for centuries that there is no firm evidence for “weather” on the Moon visible from Earth, and little evidence of thick atmosphere. [2] How would one detect the Moon’s atmosphere from Earth? An obvious means is atmospheric refraction. As you watch the Sun set, its image is displaced by Earth’s atmospheric refraction at the horizon from the position it would have if there were no atmosphere, by roughly 0.6 degree (a bit more than the Sun’s angular diameter). On the Moon, any atmosphere would cause an analogous effect for a star passing behind the Moon during an occultation (multiplied by two since the light travels both into and out of the lunar atmosphere). -
Glossary of Lunar Terminology
Glossary of Lunar Terminology albedo A measure of the reflectivity of the Moon's gabbro A coarse crystalline rock, often found in the visible surface. The Moon's albedo averages 0.07, which lunar highlands, containing plagioclase and pyroxene. means that its surface reflects, on average, 7% of the Anorthositic gabbros contain 65-78% calcium feldspar. light falling on it. gardening The process by which the Moon's surface is anorthosite A coarse-grained rock, largely composed of mixed with deeper layers, mainly as a result of meteor calcium feldspar, common on the Moon. itic bombardment. basalt A type of fine-grained volcanic rock containing ghost crater (ruined crater) The faint outline that remains the minerals pyroxene and plagioclase (calcium of a lunar crater that has been largely erased by some feldspar). Mare basalts are rich in iron and titanium, later action, usually lava flooding. while highland basalts are high in aluminum. glacis A gently sloping bank; an old term for the outer breccia A rock composed of a matrix oflarger, angular slope of a crater's walls. stony fragments and a finer, binding component. graben A sunken area between faults. caldera A type of volcanic crater formed primarily by a highlands The Moon's lighter-colored regions, which sinking of its floor rather than by the ejection of lava. are higher than their surroundings and thus not central peak A mountainous landform at or near the covered by dark lavas. Most highland features are the center of certain lunar craters, possibly formed by an rims or central peaks of impact sites. -
Appendix I Lunar and Martian Nomenclature
APPENDIX I LUNAR AND MARTIAN NOMENCLATURE LUNAR AND MARTIAN NOMENCLATURE A large number of names of craters and other features on the Moon and Mars, were accepted by the IAU General Assemblies X (Moscow, 1958), XI (Berkeley, 1961), XII (Hamburg, 1964), XIV (Brighton, 1970), and XV (Sydney, 1973). The names were suggested by the appropriate IAU Commissions (16 and 17). In particular the Lunar names accepted at the XIVth and XVth General Assemblies were recommended by the 'Working Group on Lunar Nomenclature' under the Chairmanship of Dr D. H. Menzel. The Martian names were suggested by the 'Working Group on Martian Nomenclature' under the Chairmanship of Dr G. de Vaucouleurs. At the XVth General Assembly a new 'Working Group on Planetary System Nomenclature' was formed (Chairman: Dr P. M. Millman) comprising various Task Groups, one for each particular subject. For further references see: [AU Trans. X, 259-263, 1960; XIB, 236-238, 1962; Xlffi, 203-204, 1966; xnffi, 99-105, 1968; XIVB, 63, 129, 139, 1971; Space Sci. Rev. 12, 136-186, 1971. Because at the recent General Assemblies some small changes, or corrections, were made, the complete list of Lunar and Martian Topographic Features is published here. Table 1 Lunar Craters Abbe 58S,174E Balboa 19N,83W Abbot 6N,55E Baldet 54S, 151W Abel 34S,85E Balmer 20S,70E Abul Wafa 2N,ll7E Banachiewicz 5N,80E Adams 32S,69E Banting 26N,16E Aitken 17S,173E Barbier 248, 158E AI-Biruni 18N,93E Barnard 30S,86E Alden 24S, lllE Barringer 29S,151W Aldrin I.4N,22.1E Bartels 24N,90W Alekhin 68S,131W Becquerei -
MAFIC ANOMOLIES in the LUNAR HIGHLANDS. T. A. Giguere1,2, B
Lunar and Planetary Science XXXI 1760.pdf MAFIC ANOMOLIES IN THE LUNAR HIGHLANDS. T. A. Giguere1,2, B. Ray Hawke1, G. A. Smith, G. Jeffrey Taylor1, D. T. Blewett1, P. G. Lucey1, and P. D. Spudis3, 1Hawai’i Inst. of Geophys. and Planetology, University of Hawai`i, 2525 Correa Rd., Honolulu, HI 96822, 2Intergraph Corporation, 2828 Pa’a St. Ste. 2150, Honolulu, HI 96819, 3Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX 77058. Introduction Results and Discussion Ancient mare basalts deposits that have been hidden Southern Central Highlands. Most of the southern or obscured by superposed higher albedo material are portion of the lunar central highlands exhibit FeO referred to as cryptomaria [1, 2, 3]. They represent a values that range between 5 and 9 wt. % and TiO2 record of the earliest mare volcanism. Earlier remote values less than 1 wt. %. However, a small area with sensing and geologic studies have provided evidence anomalously high FeO values has been identified near for the distribution of ancient mare volcanism. the 114 km Maurolycus crater at the crater Buch B. Schultz and Spudis [4] studied the distribution of dark-haloed impact craters in the lunar highlands. Maurolycus is located at 14.0° E, 41.8° S and Buch B They suggested that basaltic volcanism predated the is located at 17.0° E, 39.9° S. last major basin-forming impacts and that early mare volcanism may have been widespread. Hawke and Bell [5, 6] used near-IR spectra to demonstrate that many dark-haloed impact craters excavated ancient mare units buried by basin and crater ejecta. -
Facts & Features Lunar Surface Elevations Six Apollo Lunar
Greek Mythology Quadrants Maria & Related Features Lunar Surface Elevations Facts & Features Selene is the Moon and 12 234 the goddess of the Moon, 32 Diameter: 2,160 miles which is 27.3% of Earth’s equatorial diameter of 7,926 miles 260 Lacus daughter of the titans 71 13 113 Mare Frigoris Mare Humboldtianum Volume: 2.03% of Earth’s volume; 49 Moons would fit inside Earth 51 103 Mortis Hyperion and Theia. Her 282 44 II I Sinus Iridum 167 125 321 Lacus Somniorum Near Side Mass: 1.62 x 1023 pounds; 1.23% of Earth’s mass sister Eos is the goddess 329 18 299 Sinus Roris Surface Area: 7.4% of Earth’s surface area of dawn and her brother 173 Mare Imbrium Mare Serenitatis 85 279 133 3 3 3 Helios is the Sun. Selene 291 Palus Mare Crisium Average Density: 3.34 gm/cm (water is 1.00 gm/cm ). Earth’s density is 5.52 gm/cm 55 270 112 is often pictured with a 156 Putredinis Color-coded elevation maps Gravity: 0.165 times the gravity of Earth 224 22 237 III IV cresent Moon on her head. 126 Mare Marginis of the Moon. The difference in 41 Mare Undarum Escape Velocity: 1.5 miles/sec; 5,369 miles/hour Selenology, the modern-day 229 Oceanus elevation from the lowest to 62 162 25 Procellarum Mare Smythii Distances from Earth (measured from the centers of both bodies): Average: 238,856 term used for the study 310 116 223 the highest point is 11 miles. -
VV D C-A- R 78-03 National Space Science Data Center/ World Data Center a for Rockets and Satellites
VV D C-A- R 78-03 National Space Science Data Center/ World Data Center A For Rockets and Satellites {NASA-TM-79399) LHNAS TRANSI]_INT PHENOMENA N78-301 _7 CATAI_CG (NASA) 109 p HC AO6/MF A01 CSCl 22_ Unc.las G3 5 29842 NSSDC/WDC-A-R&S 78-03 Lunar Transient Phenomena Catalog Winifred Sawtell Cameron July 1978 National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC)/ World Data Center A for Rockets and Satellites (WDC-A-R&S) National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt) Maryland 20771 CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ................................................... 1 SOURCES AND REFERENCES ......................................... 7 APPENDIX REFERENCES ............................................ 9 LUNAR TRANSIENT PHENOMENA .. .................................... 21 iii INTRODUCTION This catalog, which has been in preparation for publishing for many years is being offered as a preliminary one. It was intended to be automated and printed out but this form was going to be delayed for a year or more so the catalog part has been typed instead. Lunar transient phenomena have been observed for almost 1 1/2 millenia, both by the naked eye and telescopic aid. The author has been collecting these reports from the literature and personal communications for the past 17 years. It has resulted in a listing of 1468 reports representing only slight searching of the literature and probably only a fraction of the number of anomalies actually seen. The phenomena are unusual instances of temporary changes seen by observers that they reported in journals, books, and other literature. Therefore, although it seems we may be able to suggest possible aberrations as the causes of some or many of the phenomena it is presumptuous of us to think that these observers, long time students of the moon, were not aware of most of them. -
Arxiv:0706.3947V1
Transient Lunar Phenomena: Regularity and Reality Arlin P.S. Crotts Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, 550 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027 ABSTRACT Transient lunar phenomena (TLPs) have been reported for centuries, but their nature is largely unsettled, and even their existence as a coherent phenomenon is still controversial. Nonetheless, a review of TLP data shows regularities in the observations; a key question is whether this structure is imposed by human observer effects, terrestrial atmospheric effects or processes tied to the lunar surface. I interrogate an extensive catalog of TLPs to determine if human factors play a determining role in setting the distribution of TLP reports. We divide the sample according to variables which should produce varying results if the determining factors involve humans e.g., historical epoch or geographical location of the observer, and not reflecting phenomena tied to the lunar surface. Specifically, we bin the reports into selenographic areas (300 km on a side), then construct a robust average count for such “pixels” in a way discarding discrepant counts. Regardless of how we split the sample, the results are very similar: roughly 50% of the report count originate from the crater Aristarchus and vicinity, 16% from Plato, 6% from recent, major impacts (Copernicus, ∼ ∼ Kepler and Tycho - beyond Aristarchus), plus a few at Grimaldi. Mare Crisium produces a robust signal for three of five averages of up to 7% of the reports (however, Crisium subtends more than one pixel). The consistency in TLP report counts for specific features on this list indicate that 80% of the reports arXiv:0706.3947v1 [astro-ph] 27 Jun 2007 ∼ are consistent with being real (perhaps with the exception of Crisium). -
Thumbnail Index
Thumbnail Index The following five pages depict each plate in the book and provide the following information about it: • Longitude and latitude of the main feature shown. • Sun’s angle (SE), ranging from 1°, with grazing illumination and long shadows, up to 72° for nearly full Moon conditions with the Sun almost overhead. • The elevation or height (H) in kilometers of the spacecraft above the surface when the image was acquired, from 21 to 116 km. • The time of acquisition in this sequence: year, month, day, hour, and minute in Universal Time. 1. Gauss 2. Cleomedes 3. Yerkes 4. Proclus 5. Mare Marginis 79°E, 36°N SE=30° H=65km 2009.05.29. 05:15 56°E, 24°N SE=28° H=100km 2008.12.03. 09:02 52°E, 15°N SE=34° H=72km 2009.05.31. 06:07 48°E, 17°N SE=59° H=45km 2009.05.04. 06:40 87°E, 14°N SE=7° H=60km 2009.01.10. 22:29 6. Mare Smythii 7. Taruntius 8. Mare Fecunditatis 9. Langrenus 10. Petavius 86°E, 3°S SE=19° H=58km 2009.01.11. 00:28 47°E, 6°N SE=33° H=72km 2009.05.31. 15:27 50°E, 7°S SE=10° H=64km 2009.01.13. 19:40 60°E, 11°S SE=24° H=95km 2008.06.08. 08:10 61°E, 23°S SE=9° H=65km 2009.01.12. 22:42 11.Humboldt 12. Furnerius 13. Stevinus 14. Rheita Valley 15. Kaguya impact point 80°E, 27°S SE=42° H=105km 2008.05.10.