Atlas of the Moon

The present atlas is intended for anyone interested in becoming familiar with the lunar features visible from the Earth. The main part of this book consists of a detailed atlas of the near side of the Moon, subdivided into 76 sections with complete nomenclature as outhorized by the International Astronomical Union (lAU), including recent amendments up to 2003, Each section is accompanied by a "Who's who on the Moon" summary containing information about the individuals whose names have been given to lunar formations, and a brief description of the features themselves. An additional series of libration-zone charts depict the difficult-to-observe region near the Moon's limb. Finally, there is the "Fifty views of the Moon" section that highlights some of the lunar surface's most interesting features. Readers will find numerous changes and updates in this edition of Atlas of the Moon. The atlas charts ore updated to match the current IAU-approved lunar nomenclature (including recent additions adopted at the IAU General Assembly in 2000); the libration charts for the south polar region have been replaced with new ones that utilize imagery from the Clementine spacecraft and Arecibo Observatory to show more detail near the pole; and crater terminology is updated throughout the atlas to reflect the terms used by geologists. Gone are obsolete terms like "walled plains" or "Ring Mountains," introduced long ago by selenographers. Also, the book has been revised throughout to incorporate results from the Galileo, Clementine, and Lunar Prospector missions. Naturally, tables of lunar phases, colongitude, and eclipses ore updated too.