Preface 5
Acknowledgements 7
Contents 9
Chapter One: Introducing the Moon 13
What麓s New? 14
Introduction 15
Early Ideas About the Moon 17
Landmarks in Lunar Astronomy 19
Orbit and Motion 21
Libration 23
Phases of the Moon 26
Sidereal and Synodic Month 29
Features of the Moon 30
The Lunar ``Maria麓麓 30
Lunar Craters 34
Terms Used When Observing the Moon 38
Maps of the Moon 39
Gravity and Tidal Forces 41
Atmosphere 43
Water 44
Temperature 45
Magnetic Field 46
Far Side of the Moon 47
Web Notes 50
Chapter Two: Probing the Moon 51
What麓s New? 52
Early Space Probes to the Moon 54
Apollo Missions 56
More Lunar Missions 58
Getting to the Moon 63
Recent Lunar Missions 68
Lunar Exploration by Japan 69
Lunar Exploration by China 70
Lunar Exploration by India 71
USA Return to the Moon 73
Further Lunar Probes 76
Web Notes 80
Chapter Three: Geological History of the Moon 81
What麓s New? 82
Origin of the Moon 83
History of the Moon 86
The Moon麓s Periods 87
Lunar Rocks and Soil 89
Ancient Impact Basins 91
Mare Geology 94
The Highlands 99
Lunar Mountains 101
Lunar Valleys 104
Transient Lunar Phenomena 106
Interior of the Moon 109
Mascons 111
The Far Side of the Moon 113
Web Notes 116
Chapter Four: Occultations and Eclipses 117
What麓s New? 118
Occultations 119
Observing Occultations 120
Occultation Case Study 121
Multiple Occultations 122
Usefulness of Occultations 123
Eclipses 124
Solar Eclipses 124
Viewing a Solar Eclipse 125
Solar Eclipse Case Study 128
Time of a Solar Eclipse 129
Recording a Solar Eclipse 129
Lunar Eclipses 131
Time of a Lunar Eclipse 132
Observing a Lunar Eclipse 134
Lunar Eclipse Case Study 135
Web Notes 138
Chapter Five: Observing the Moon 139
What麓s New? 140
Beginning a Study of the Moon 142
Observing with Binoculars 143
Types of Optics in Binoculars 147
Using a Telescope 148
The Refractor 149
Reflectors 151
Eyepieces 153
Filters 154
Mounting for Telescopes 155
Observing the Moon 160
New Moon to Day 4 160
Day 4 to Day 7 (First Quarter) 162
Day 7 to Day 11 163
Day 11 to Day 14 (Full Moon) 164
Day 14 to Day 28 165
Photographing the Moon 167
Single Lens Reflex Photography 168
CCD Cameras 169
Determining Exposures 171
Video and CCD Cameras 173
Image Processing 174
List of Recommended Astrophotography Books 175
Web Notes 176
Chapter Six: Studying the Moon 177
Study Area 1: Mare Crisium 179
Mare Crisium 180
Mare Fecunditatis 181
Mare Tranquillitatis 182
Apollonius (4.5N, 61.1E) 182
Cauchy (9.6N, 38.6E) 182
Condorcet (12.1N, 69.6E) 183
Firmicus (7.3N, 63.4E) 184
Macrobius (21.3N, 46.0E) 184
Messier and Messier A (1.9S, 47.6E) 184
Peirce (18.3N, 53.5E) 185
Picard (14.6N, 54.7E) 185
Proclus (16.1N, 46.8E) 185
Secchi (2.4N, 43.5E) 185
Taruntius (5.6N, 46.5E) 185
Webb (0.9S, 60.0E) 186
Yerkes (14.6N, 51.7E) 186
Study Area 2: Southeast Limb 187
Mare Fecunditatis 189
Mare Nectaris 189
Bohnenberger (16.2S, 40.0E) 189
Colombo (15.1S, 45.8E) 190
Cook (17.5S, 48.9E) 190
Fracastorius (21.5S, 33.2E) 190
Furnerius (36.0S, 60.6E) 190
Goclenius (10.0S, 45.0E) 191
Langrenus (8.9S, 61.1E) 192
Lohse (13.7S, 60.2E) 193
Metius (40.3S, 43.3E) 193
Petavius (25.1S, 60.4E) 193
Piccolomini (29.7S, 32.2E) 193
Pyrenees Mountains (15.6S, 41.2E) 194
Rheita (37.1S, 47.2E) and Rheita Valley (42.5S, 51.5E) 194
Rosse (17.9S, 35.0E) 194
Santbech (20.9S, 44.0E) 195
Snellius (29.3S, 55.7E) 195
Stevinus (32.5S, 54.2E) 195
Vendelinus (16.4S, 61.6E) 195
Study Area 3: Northeast Limb 197
Mare Serenitatis 199
Lacus Somniorum (38.0N, 29.2E) 199
Lacus Mortis (45.0N, 28.2E) 199
Atlas (46.7N, 44.4E) 199
Burg (45.0N, 28.2E) 200
Cepheus (40.8N, 45.8E) 200
Chacornac (29.8N, 31.7E) 200
Daniell (35.3N, 31.1E) 200
Franklin (38.8N, 47.7E) 200
Grove (40.3N, 32.9E) 201
Hercules (46.7N, 39.1E) 201
Le Monnier (26.6N, 30.6E) 201
Messala (39.2N, 60.5E) 201
Posidonius (31.8N, 29.9E) 202
Taurus Mountains (28.4N, 41.1E) 202
Study Area 4: Mare Tranquillitatis 203
Mare Tranquillitatis 205
Mare Serenitatis 205
Arago (6.2N, 21.4E) 205
Ariadaeus and Ariadaeus rille (6.4N, 14.0E) 206
Dawes (17.2N, 26.4E) 206
Dionysius (2.8N, 17.3E) 206
Haemus Mountains (19.9N, 9.2E) 206
Jansen (13.5N, 28.7E) 207
Julius Caesar (9.0N, 15.4E) 207
Lamont (4.4N, 23.7E) 208
Maclear (10.5N, 20.1E) 208
Maskelyne (2.2N, 30.1E) 208
Menelaus (16.3N, 16.0E) 208
Plinius (15.4N, 23.7E) 209
Ritter (2.0N, 19.2E) 209
Ross (11.7N, 21.7E) 209
Sabine (1.4N, 20.1E) 209
Silberschlag (6.2N, 12.5E) 210
Study Area 5: Mare Serenitatis 211
Mare Serenitatis 211
Bessel (21.8N, 17.9E) 213
Caucasus Mountains (38.4N, 10.0E) 214
Chacornac (29.8N, 31.7E) 214
Daniell (35.3N, 31.1E) 214
Dawes (17.2N, 26.4E) 214
Haemus Mountains (19.9N, 9.2E) 215
Le Monnier (26.6N, 30.6E) 215
Menelaus (16.3N, 16.0E) 215
Mount Argaeus (19.0N, 29.0E) 215
Plinius (15.4N, 23.7E) 216
Posidonius (31.8N, 29.9E) 216
Serpentine Ridge 216
Sulpicius Gallus (19.6N, 11.6E) 216
Vitruvius (17.6N, 31.3E) 217
Study Area 6: Mare Nectaris West 218
Mare Nectaris 219
Altai Scarp (24.3S, 22.6E) 220
Abulfreda (13.8S, 13.9E) 220
Almanon (16.8S, 15.2E) 220
Beaumont (18.0S, 28.8E) 221
Catharina (18.1S, 23.4E) 221
Cyrillus (13.2S, 24.0E) 221
Fracastorius (21.5S, 33.2E) 222
Geber (19.4S, 13.9E) 222
Madler (11.0S, 29.8E) 222
Piccolomini (29.7S, 32.2E) 222
Rosse (17.9S, 35.0E) 223
Sacrobosco (23.7S, 16.7E) 223
Theophilus (37.0N, 6.0E) 223
Study Area 7: Mare Vaporum 224
Mare Vaporum 225
Agrippa (4.1N, 10.5E) 226
Apennine Mountains (18.9N, 3.7W) 227
Bode (6.7N, 2.4W) 227
Boscovich (9.8N, 11.1E) 227
Conon Rille (18.6N, 2.0E) 227
Eratosthenes (14.5N, 11.3W) 228
Godin (1.8N, 10.2E) 229
Hyginus (7.8N, 6.3E) and Hyginus Rille 229
Manilius (14.5N, 9.1E) 229
Pallas (5.5N, 1.6W) 229
Schroeter (2.6N, 7.0W) 230
Sinus Aestuum (10.9N, 8.8W) 230
Sinus Medii (2.4N, 1.7E) 230
Triesnecker (4.2N, 3.6E) and Triesnecker Rille 230
Ukert (7.8N, 1.4E) 231
Study Area 8: Central Highlands 232
Mare Nubium 234
Albategnius (11.7S, 4.3E) 234
Alpetragius (16.0S, 4.5W) 234
Alphonsus (3.7S, 3.2W) 235
Arzachel (18.2S, 1.9W) 235
Davy (11.8S, 8.1W) 235
Herschel (5.7S, 2.1W) 236
Hipparchus (5.1S, 5.2E) 237
Horrocks (4.0S, 5.9E) 237
Lassell (15.5S, 7.9W) 237
Ptolemaeus (9.3S, 1.9W) 237
Sinus Medii (2.4N, 1.7E) 238
Study Area 9: Mare Nubium 239
Mare Nubium 240
Aliacensis (30.6S, 5.2E) 241
Arzachel (18.2S, 1.9W) 241
Ball (35.9S, 8.4W) 241
Birt (22.4S, 8.5W) 242
Hell (32.4S, 7.8W) 242
Hesiodus (29.4S, 16.3W) 242
Lexell (35.8S, 4.2W) 242
Nicollet (21.9S, 12.5W) 243
Pitatus (29.9S, 13.5W) 243
Purbach (25.5S, 2.3W) 243
Regiomontanus (28.3S, 1.0W) 243
Rupes Recta (22.1S, 7.8W) 244
Thebit (22.0S, 4.0W) 244
Walter (33.1S, 1.0E) 244
Werner (28.0S, 3.3E) 245
Wolf (22.7S, 16.6W) 245
Study Area 10: Northern Plains 246
Mare Serenitatis 248
Mare Frigoris 248
Mare Imbrium 248
Alps (46.4N, 0.8W) and Alpine Valley (48.5N, 3.2E) 249
Archimedes (29.7N, 4.0W) 249
Archytas (58.7N, 5.0E) 251
Aristillus (33.9N, 1.2E) 251
Aristoteles (50.2N, 17.4E) 251
Autolycus (30.7N, 1.5E) 251
Calippus (38.9N, 10.7E) 252
Cassini (40.2N, 4.6E) 252
Caucasus Mountains (38.4N, 10.0E) 252
Egede (48.7N, 10.6E) 252
Eudoxus (44.3N, 16.3E) 253
Mt Piton (40.6N, 1.1W) 253
Plato (51.6N, 9.4W) 253
Theaetetus (37.0N, 6.0E) 254
Study Area 11: Southern Highlands 255
Bettinus (63.4S, 44.8W) 255
Blancanus (63.8S, 21.4W) 256
Clavius (58.8S, 14.1W) 257
Kircher (67.1S, 45.3W) 258
Longomontanus (49.6S, 21.8W) 258
Maginus (50.5S, 6.3W) 259
Moretus (70.6S, 5.8W) 259
Scheiner (60.5S, 27.5W) 259
Schiller (51.9S, 39.0W) 259
Tycho (43.4S, 11.1W) 260
Wilhelm (43.4S, 20.4W) 260
Zucchius (61.4S, 50.3W) 261
Study Area 12: Mare Cognitum 262
Mare Cognitum 263
Oceanus Procellarum 264
Euclides (7.4S, 29.5W) 265
Flamsteed (4.5S, 44.3W) 265
Gassendi (17.6S, 40.1W) 265
Herigonius (13.3S, 33.8W) 265
Kuiper (9.8S, 22.6W) 266
Lansberg (0.3S, 26.6W) 266
Letronne (10.8S, 42.5W) 267
Lubiniezky (17.8S, 23.8W) 267
Norman (11.8S, 30.4W) 267
Riphaean Mountains (7.7S, 28.1W) 267
Wichmann (8.0S, 38W) 268
Study Area 13: Sinus Iridum 269
Mare Frigorus 271
Mare Imbrium 271
Bianchini (48.7N, 34.3W) 271
Foucault (50.4N, 39.7W) 271
Gruithuisen Mountains (36N, 40W) 272
Harpalus (52.6N, 43.4W) 272
Helicon (40.4N, 23.1W) 272
Jura Mountains (47N, 34W) 272
Le Verrier (40.3N, 20.6W) 273
Mairan (41.6N, 43.4W) 273
Sharp (45.7N, 40.2W) 273
Sinus Iridum (44N, 32W) 273
Straight Range (48N, 20W) 274
Study Area 14: Mare Insularum 275
Mare Insularum 275
Carpathian Mountains (14.5N, 24.4W) 276
Copernicus (9.7N, 20.1W) 277
Encke (4.6N, 36.6W) 278
Gambart (1.0N, 15.2W) 279
Gay-Lussac (13.9N, 20.8W) 279
Hortensius (6.5N, 28.0W) 280
Kepler (8.1N, 38.0W) 281
Lansberg (0.3S, 26.6W) 281
Milichius (10N, 30W) 282
Reinhold (3.3N, 22.8W) 282
Tobias Mayer (15.6N, 29.1W) 282
Study Area 15: Mare Humorum 284
Mare Humorum 285
Agatharchides (19.8S, 30.9W) 286
Bullialdus (20.7S, 22.2W) 287
Campanus (28.0S, 27.8W) 287
Capuanus (34.1S, 26.7W) 287
Doppelmayer (28.5S, 41.4W) 288
Gassendi (17.6S, 40.1W) 288
Hippalus and Hippalus rilles (24.8S, 30.2W) 288
Kelvin Scarp (27.3S, 33.1W) 289
Kies and Kies Pi (26.3S, 22.5W) 289
Konig (24.1S, 24.6W) 289
Lee (30.7S, 40.7W) 290
Lubiniesky (17.8S, 23.8W) 291
Mercator and Mercator Scarp (29.3S, 26.1W) 291
Ramsden (32.9S, 31.8W) 291
Vitello (30.4S, 37.5W) 291
Study Area 16: Oceanus Procellarum 293
Oceanus Procellarum 293
Agricola Mountains (29.1N, 54.2W) 295
Aristarchus (23.7N, 47.4W) 295
Aristarchus Plateau (25N, 48W) 296
Brayley (20.9N, 36.9W) 297
Briggs (26.5N, 69.1W) 297
Harbinger Mountains (27N, 41W) 297
Herodotus (23.2N, 49.7W) 297
Krieger (29.0N, 45.6W) 298
Lichtenberg (31.8N, 67.7W) 298
Prinz (25.5N, 44.1W) 298
Schiaparelli (23.4N, 58.8W) 298
Schroter麓s Valley (26.2N, 50.8W) 298
Seleucus (21.0N, 66.6W) 299
Study Area 17: Western Limb 300
Oceanus Procellarum 302
Cardanus (13.2N, 0.0E) 302
Cavalerius (5.1N, 66.6W) 303
Flamsteed P (3S, 44W) 303
Galileo (10.5N, 62.7W) 303
Hevelius (2.2N, 67.6W) 303
Kepler (8.1N, 38.0W) 304
Krafft (16.6N, 72.6W) 304
Marius (11.9N, 50.8W) 304
Marius Hills (14N, 50W) 304
Olbers (7.3N, 75.8W) 306
Reiner (7.0N, 54.9W) 306
Reiner Gamma (7N, 60W) 306
Riccioli (3.3S, 74.6W) 306
About the Author 308
Glossary 309
Index 317