The Moon in Close-up A Next Generation Astronomer's Guide
Information collected by recent space probes sent to explore the Moon by the USA, the European Space Agency, Japan, China and India has changed our knowledge and understanding of the Moon, particularly its geology, since the Apollo missions. This book pre
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The Moon in Close-up
A Next Generation Astronomer’s Guide
John Wilkinson
John Wilkinson
ISSN 1431-9756 ISBN 978-3-642-14804-0 e-ISBN 978-3-642-14805-7 DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-14805-7 Springer Heidelberg Dordrecht London New York # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Violations are liable to prosecution under the German Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Cover illustration: NASA Cover design: eStudio Calamar Steinen Cover figure: The crater Daedalus on the Moon’s far side as seen by the Lunar Orbiter spacecraft (NASA). See also Fig. 1.23 in the book. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer ScienceþBusiness Media (www.springer.com)
Preface
Throughout history, our Moon has been a constant source of fascination. Ancient civilizations worshipped it and used it to measure time and predict the rise and fall of the oceans. The Moon is also the most dominant member of the night sky being much brighter than all the planets and the background of stars. The Moon is so large and so close to Earth that some of its surface features are readily visible to the naked eye. Without a telescope, you can easily see dark grey and light grey areas that cover vast areas of the Moon. The invention of the telescope in 1608 enabled observers such as Galileo to observe for the first time the various features on the Moon’s surface. Galileo was able to observe the craters, mountains and “seas” on the Moon. As telescopes improved, so did the quality of observations and our understanding of the Moon’s role in the Solar System. Then, 50 years ago, space travel changed everything. The first spacecraft to reach the Moon was the USSR’s Luna 1 in 1959. Since then more than 70 spacecraft have visited the Moon. Some of these spacecraft have been robotic while others have been manned. Among the robotic spacecraft was the Jupiter bound probe named Galileo. Scientists tested Galileo’s instruments with Moon observations before it made its historic journey to explore the Jupiter system. Perhaps the most outstanding technological achievement in space travel occurred in July 1969 when USA astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the Moon’s surface. Since then, a total of 12 astronauts have w
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