Historical maps and rare photographs illustrate four centuries of mapping the Moon.

Historical maps and rare photographs illustrate four centuries of mapping the Moon.

This rarely-seen map of the Moon originates from a 300-inch hand-drawn map produced by the engineer and amateur astronomer Hugh Percival Wilkins (1896-1960). Combining artistry with scientific precision, Wilkins's detailed map reveals the rugged terrain of our celestial neighbour. First published in 1946 as a 100-inch reproduction, Wilkins continued to revise and expand his observations and produced this third edition in 1951. Comprised of 25 sheets, it was subsequently used by amateur and professional astronomers, and was even purchased by NASA. Acquired by the Museum in 2006, Wilkins's Map of the Moon is reproduced faithfully in this volume over 90 pages, making this beautiful record of astronomical history available for all.

When does a depiction of the moon become a lunar map? This publication addresses this question from theoretical and historical standpoints. It is argued that moon maps are of crucial importance to the history of cartography, for they challenge established notions of what a map is, how it functions, what its purposes are, and what kind of power it embodies and performs. The publication also shows how terrestrial cartography has shaped the history of lunar mapping since the seventeenth century, through visual and nomenclature conventions, the cultural currency of maps, mapmakers’ social standing, and data-gathering and projection practices. It further demonstrates that lunar cartography has also been organized by an internal principle that is born of the fundamental problem of how to create static map spaces capable of representing a referent that is constantly changing to our eyes, as is the visible face of the moon. It is suggested that moon maps may be classed in three broad categories, according to the kinds of solutions for this representational problem that have been devised over the last 400 years.

The only work to date to collect data gathered during the American and Soviet missions in an accessible and complete reference of current scientific and technical information about the Moon.

This 1996 text reviews current ideas about the formation of chondrules in meteorites.