List of lunar features
The surface of the Moon has many features, including mountains and valleys, craters, and plains, amongst others.
Lunar plain features
[edit]
Lunar maria (singular mare) are large, dark, regions of the Moon. They do not contain any water, but are believed to have been formed from molten rock from the Moon's mantle coming out onto the surface of the Moon. This list also includes the one oceanus and the features known by the names lacus, palus and sinus. The modern system of lunar nomenclature was introduced in 1651 by Riccioli.[1] Riccioli's map of the Moon was drawn by Francesco Maria Grimaldi, who has a crater named after him.[2]
There is also a region on the Lunar farside that was briefly misidentified as a mare and named Mare Desiderii (Sea of Desire). It is no longer recognized. Other former maria include:
- Mare Parvum[3] ("Small Sea"), immediately to the east of Inghirami
- Mare Incognitum ("Unknown Sea")
- Mare Novum[3] ("New Sea"), northeast of Plutarch
- Mare Struve ("Struve's Sea"), near Messala
A related set of features are the Lunar lacus (singular lacus, Latin for "lake"), which are smaller basaltic plains of similar origin. A related set of features are the sinus (singular sinus, Latin for "bay") and paludes (singular palus, Latin for "marsh"). Some sources also list a Palus Nebularum ("Marsh of Mists") at 38.0° N, 1.0° E, but the designation for this feature has not been officially recognized by the IAU.
Craters
[edit]The large majority of these features are impact craters. The crater nomenclature is governed by the International Astronomical Union, and this list only includes features that are officially recognized by that scientific society.
The lunar craters are listed in the following subsections. Where a formation has associated satellite craters (smaller associated craters), these are detailed on the main crater description pages.
| List of craters on the Moon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z | |||||
Catenae
[edit]A catena is a chain of craters.
Valleys
[edit]Several large lunar valleys have been given names. Most of them are named after a nearby crater; see the list of craters on the Moon for more information.
Mountains
[edit]The heights of the isolated mountains or massifs listed here are not consistently reported across sources. In the 1960s, the US Army Mapping Service used elevation relative to 1,737,988 meters from the center of the Moon. In the 1970s, the US Defense Mapping Agency used 1,730,000 meters. The Clementine topographic data published in the 1990s uses 1,737,400 meters.
This list is not comprehensive, and does not list the highest places on the Moon. Clementine data show a range of about 18,100 meters from lowest to highest point on the Moon. The highest point, located on the far side of the Moon, is approximately 6500 meters higher than Mons Huygens (usually listed as the tallest mountain).
Mountains are referred to using the Latin word mons (plural montes).
Mountain ranges
[edit]Other features
[edit]The Moon's surface exhibits many other geological features. In addition to mountains, valleys, and impact craters, the following surface features have received names in the Lunar nomenclature, many of them named after a nearby crater or mountain.
The listed diameter for these features is the longest dimension that contains the entire geological formation. The latitudes and longitudes are in selenographic coordinates.
Albedo
[edit]These features have a high albedo compared to the surrounding terrain.
| Name | Coordinates | Diameter | Name origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reiner Gamma | 7°30′N 59°00′W / 7.5°N 59.0°W | 70.0 km | After nearby crater Reiner |
On the far side of the Moon there are unnamed albedo features on Mare Ingenii and Mare Marginis. These are located antipodal to the Mare Imbrium and Mare Orientale impact basins.
Dorsa
[edit]A dorsum (plural dorsa, meaning back or ridge) is a wrinkle-ridge system commonly found on lunar maria.
Promontoria
[edit]These features form a cape or headland on a mare.
| Name | Coordinates | Dia. | Name origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Promontorium Agarum | 14°00′N 66°00′E / 14.0°N 66.0°E | 70 km | Named from a cape in the Sea of Azov |
| Promontorium Agassiz | 42°00′N 1°48′E / 42.0°N 1.8°E | 20 km | Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz (1807–1873) |
| Promontorium Archerusia | 16°42′N 22°00′E / 16.7°N 22.0°E | 10 km | Named from a cape on the Black Sea |
| Promontorium Deville | 43°12′N 1°00′E / 43.2°N 1.0°E | 20 km | Charles Joseph Sainte-Claire Deville (1814–1876) |
| Promontorium Fresnel | 29°00′N 4°42′E / 29.0°N 4.7°E | 20 km | Augustin Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) |
| Promontorium Heraclides | 40°18′N 33°12′W / 40.3°N 33.2°W | 50 km | Heraclides Ponticus |
| Promontorium Kelvin | 27°00′S 33°00′W / 27.0°S 33.0°W | 50 km | William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824–1907) |
| Promontorium Laplace | 46°00′N 25°48′W / 46.0°N 25.8°W | 50 km | Pierre Simon Laplace (1749–1827) |
| Promontorium Taenarium | 19°00′S 8°00′W / 19.0°S 8.0°W | 70 km | Named from cape in Greece[5] |
Rimae
[edit]Rimae (singular rima) are lunar rilles.
Rupes
[edit]These are escarpments in the surface.
| Name | Coordinates | Dia. | Name origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rupes Altai | 24°18′S 22°36′E / 24.3°S 22.6°E | 427.0 km | Altai Mountains |
| Rupes Boris | 30°30′N 33°30′W / 30.5°N 33.5°W | 4.0 km | Named from nearby crater Boris |
| Rupes Cauchy | 9°00′N 37°00′E / 9.0°N 37.0°E | 120.0 km | Named from nearby crater Cauchy |
| Rupes Kelvin | 27°18′S 33°06′W / 27.3°S 33.1°W | 78.0 km | Named from nearby Promontorium Kelvin |
| Rupes Liebig | 25°00′S 46°00′W / 25.0°S 46.0°W | 180.0 km | Named from nearby crater Liebig |
| Rupes Mercator | 31°00′S 22°18′W / 31.0°S 22.3°W | 93.0 km | Named from nearby crater Mercator |
| Rupes Recta | 22°06′S 7°48′W / 22.1°S 7.8°W | 134.0 km | Latin for "straight cliff"[6] |
| Rupes Toscanelli | 27°24′N 47°30′W / 27.4°N 47.5°W | 70.0 km | Named from nearby crater Toscanelli |
Terrae
[edit]The continental areas between the seas were given comparable names by Giovanni Battista Riccioli,[7] but were opposite the names used for the seas. Thus there were the lands of sterility (Terra Sterilitatis), heat (Terra Caloris), and liveliness (Terra Vitae). However these names for the highland regions are no longer used on recent maps, and Terrae are not officially recognized as standard lunar nomenclature by the International Astronomical Union.[8]
| Name | Name origin | Near side position |
|---|---|---|
| Insula Ventorum | Island of Winds | |
| Peninsula Fulminum | Peninsula of Thunder | Between Mare Humorum and Oceanus Procellarum.[9] |
| Terra Caloris | Land of Heat | Southwest rim of the near side.[9] |
| Terra Fertilitatis | Land of Fertility | Southeastern rim of the near side.[9] |
| Terrae Grandinis | Lands of Hail | Northeast border of Mare Imbrium.[9] |
| Terrae Manna | Lands of Manna | Region between Mare Tranquillitatis, Mare Fecunditatis and Mare Nectaris.[9] |
| Terra Nivium | Land of Snows | Southeast border of Mare Imbrium.[9] |
| Terra Pruinae | Land of Frost | Northwest border of Mare Imbrium.[9] |
| Terra Sanitatis | Land of Healthiness | Central region between Mare Nubium and Mare Tranquillitatis.[9] |
| Terra Siccitatis | Land of Dryness | Northwest rim of the near side.[9] |
| Terra Sterilitatis | Land of Sterility | |
| Terra Vigoris | Land of Cheerfulness | Region southeast of Mare Crisium.[9] |
| Terra Vitae | Land of Liveliness | Northeast rim of the near side.[9] |
See also
[edit]
- Lunar craters
- Topography of the Moon
- List of mountain ranges
- List of mountains on the Moon
- List of named features on the Far Side of the Moon
References
[edit]- ^ Moore, Patrick (1983). The Guinness book of astronomy facts and feats. Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 25. ISBN 0-85112-258-2.
- ^ "Science Source - Riccioli's Moon map, 1651". www.sciencesource.com. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
- ^ a b "Astronomica Langrenus" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2006-10-12. Retrieved 2006-12-05.
- ^ Formerly called Mons Euler.
- ^ Now Matapan or Tainaron
- ^ Traditionally called the "Straight Wall".
- ^ Wood, Chuck (April 18, 2006). "Restoring Bright Names". LPOD lunar photo of the day. Retrieved 2006-12-02.
- ^ Blue, Jennifer (October 16, 2006). "Categories for Naming Features on Planets and Satellites". USGS. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wood, Chuck (2006-07-13). "Restoring bright names". LPOD. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
These were used for references in the Water Features section.
- Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature (PDF). NASA RP-1097. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), no ISBN. - Ben Bussey and Paul Spudis, The Clementine Atlas of the Moon, Cambridge University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-521-81528-2.
- Antonín Rükl, Atlas of the Moon, Kalmbach Books, 1990, ISBN 0-913135-17-8.
- Ewen A. Whitaker, Mapping and Naming the Moon, Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-521-62248-4.
The following sources were used as references on the individual crater pages.
- Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature (PDF). NASA RP-1097. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-06.
- Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81528-2.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 0-936389-27-3.
- McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
- Menzel, Donald H. (February 1971). "Final Report on NGR 22-007-194, Lunar Nomenclature" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
- 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. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID 122125855.
- Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 0-304-35469-4.
- Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon observer's handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-33500-0.
- Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-913135-17-8.
- Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revision ed.). Dover. ISBN 0-486-20917-2.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - Whitaker, Ewen A. (2003). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-54414-6.
- Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 1-85233-193-3.
External links
[edit]- NASA lunar Atlas
- IAU, USGS: Moon nomenclature
- IAU, USGS: Moon nomenclature: mountains
- Astronomica Langrenus — Italian Lunar Web Site
- Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature
- Lunar Atlases at the Lunar & Planetary Institute
- Lunar Nomenclature
- Lunar Photo of the Day by Charles A. Wood et al.
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| Surface and features | ||
| Science | ||
| Exploration | ||
| Time-telling and navigation | ||
| Phases and names | ||
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