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A labeled topographic map of the Moon's far side (the side always facing away from the Earth) (source:USGS). North is at the top and South at the bottom. Using a selenocentric coordinate system (a system based on the view from the Moon), West is on the right and East on the left. Using a geocentric coordinate system (a system based on the view from the Earth), the western side of the Moon is on the left and the eastern side is on the right. Older maps tend to use the geocentric system, but space-age maps (which of course includes all maps of the far side) tend to use the selenocentric system.
Since the Moon has no air or water and hence no "sea level", zero altitude is set at the Moon's mean (average) radius of just over a thousand miles. Altitudes below that use bluer tones suggestive of oceanic regions on the Earth, and altitudes above that green and redder tones suggestive of land regions on the Earth (areas shown in gray have no reliable altitude data). As the result the lunar maria, once thought to be oceans, are shown as though they really were oceans, while the lunar terrae, once thought to be highlands, are shown as though they really were continents.
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Online Astronomy eText: Satellites (Moons)
Pictures of The Moon: Maps of The Moon
Most of this page consists of small versions of huge maps of the Moon, which serve as an overview of the maps available, and links to the larger versions. However, it seems appropriate to start the page with an outstanding mosaic of the lunar nearside.
A lunar nearside mosaic (Image Credit GSFC / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter NASA)
Usually, images of the full moon show no shadows and relatively little contrast, because we are viewing the Moon from the same direction as the Sun, and there are no shadows visible from our location. The above mosaic of thousands of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images, adjusted for foreshortening (near the limb) and taken slightly away from local lunar noon (so that there are some shadows) provides an enhanced view of the lunar nearside similar to that in the best hand-drawn maps. The same image is also shown below, but with some of the more prominent features (easily visible with binoculars and at least detectable even with the unaided eye) labeled.
Below, a lunar farside mosaic (Image Credit GSFC / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter NASA)
Click on any map below to link to a (much) larger version
Color-Coded Topographic Maps of the Moon
(source: USGS)
Topographic map of the lunar near side
Topographic map of the lunar far side
Topographic map of the Moon, centered on "western" side
Topographic map of the Moon, centered on "eastern" side
Topographic map of the Moon, centered on the North Pole
Topographic map of the Moon, centered on the South Pole
Shaded Relief Maps of the Moon
(Source: Lunar and Planetary Institute)
Shaded-relief map of the lunar nearside
Shaded-relief map of the lunar farside
Shaded-relief maps of the lunar poles
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Online Astronomy Text Table of Contents
Recent Updates / Recent Pictures / Recent Questions and Replies
© Courtney Seligman, 1993 - present
(This eText and its Table of Contents are a perpetual work in progress)
Section Links
Galaxies and the Universe / Appendices
Introduction to this eText
Preface (the purpose of this text, and its use in my classes)
The Use of Mathematics In My Lecture Classes (if you enjoy math, great; if not, don't worry about it)
False Colors in Astronomical Photographs (pictures may not lie, but they can still mislead)
Introduction to Astronomy
Our Place In Space (introduction to the Solar System)
The Realm of the Stars (introduction to extrasolar astronomy)
Looking at The Sky
The Starry Sky
Stars and Constellations (dividing the sky into manageable pieces)
Star Names / Name That Star -- Not! (how stars are named, or not)
Atmospheric Effects
Why Stars Twinkle
Atmospheric Refraction (how the atmosphere bends starlight)
Atmospheric Dispersion (how the atmosphere acts like a prism)
Atmospheric Scattering (why the sky is blue, and the setting Sun is red)
The Dome of the Sky
The Celestial Sphere (the apparent globe of the sky)
The Moon Illusion (why the Moon looks bigger, when rising or setting)
Astronomical Coordinates (measuring positions on the celestial sphere)
The PZS Triangle (placeholder)
The Motion of the Sky (that is, of the "fixed" stars)
Parallax -- (background geometry, critical to many parts of astronomy)
The Motion of the Sky (a general introduction) / Polar Animation
The Motion of the Sky at Different Latitudes (at the Poles, the Equator, and mid-latitudes)
Stars Setting at the Equator (a larger image)
The Many Motions of the Stars (introduction and links to more detailed discussions)
The Wanderers (introduction to non-stellar (or planetary motions)
The Wanderers (introduction) / Today's Positions of the Sun and Planets
The Motion of the Moon (around the sky in a moonth)
The Motion of the Sun (around the sky in a year)
The Changing Motion of the Sun (faster and slower)
The Motion of the Planets
Phases and Eclipses
Timekeeping and the Calendar
Timekeeping (sidereal, solar, and ephemeris time) / The Calendar (how we count the days)
Leap Years (why we have them) / Leap Seconds (why we have them and how they are used)
The Rotation of the Planets
The Rotation of the Earth
The Rotation of the Earth / Day and Night / Climatic Zones / Coriolis Effects
Rotation of the Other Planets
The Seasons
Seasons on the Other Planets (tilt diagram)
Background Physics: Motion and Forces
Notes on Motion / Newton's Laws of Motion / Inertial & Non-Inertial Reference Frames / Fictitious Forces
A Matter of Some Gravity / What Is the Gravitational Constant, G? / Lagrange Points
Gravitational Interactions of the Earth and Moon: Barycentric Motion / Tides / Precession
Orbital Perturbations and Gravitational Assists
Orbital Motions
Planetary Orbits (also see Orbital Regularities)
The Ptolemaic Cosmos / The Copernican Revolution
Planetary Aspects / Synodic Period of Revolution / Retrograde Motion / Transits of Mercury and Venus
Tycho Brahe's Astronomical Accomplishments / Biography of Tycho Brahe
Kepler / Galileo / The Phases of Venus / The Discovery of Planet Earth / Galilean Relativity
Ellipses and Other Conic Sections
Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion / Kepler's First Law / Kepler's Second Law / Kepler's Third Law
Cassini Measures the Orbit of the Sun / Bradley's Discovery of Stellar Aberration
Orbital Effects on Planetary Weather (also see Planetary Temperature Factors)
Planets
Planetary Data Table / Printable (PDF) Version of Table / Using the Planetary Data Table
Mercury: Mariner 10 Shaded Relief Map of Mercury / The Caloris Basin
The Structure of Mars / The History of Mars / Oppositions of Mars / The Seasons on Mars
Jupiter: The Rotation of Jupiter
Saturn: The Rings of Saturn / The Rotation of Saturn / The Structure of Saturn
Uranus: The Discovery of the Outer Planets
Pluto: The Rotation of Pluto / The Discovery of Pluto
Eris and Dysnomia: (KBO / Dwarf Planet 2003 UB313) / Plutoids and Plutinos / Exoplanets
Understanding Planetary Interiors
Rock-Forming (Common) Minerals
The Structure of the Terrestrial Planets / The Structure of the Jovian Planets
Internal Pressures of the Planets / Accurately Calculating Internal Pressures
The Internal Temperatures and Magnetic Fields of the Planets
Planetary Magnetic Fields and Metallic Hydrogen (brief notes)
Understanding Planetary Atmospheres
The Structure of Planetary Atmospheres / The "Surfaces" of the Jovian Planets
Atmospheric Effects on Planetary Temperatures (also see Planetary Temperature Factors)
The Retention/Loss of Planetary Atmospheres (Incomplete)
Satellites (Moons)
The Moon: Lunar Disk 137 / Copernicus / Lunation Animation / Large Third-Quarter Moon
Color-Coded Topographic Maps: Nearside / Farside / "West" Side / "East" Side / North Side / South Side
Shaded Relief Maps: Nearside / Farside / Poles
The Galilean Satellites: Io / Europa / Ganymede / Callisto
The Satellites (Moons) of Saturn: Titan, Mimas, Tethys, Telesto, Calypso, Dione, Helene, Rhea, Enceladus, Iapetus,Hyperion, Atlas, Janus, Epimetheus, Pan, Pandora, Prometheus, Phoebe
S2000 S1 to S12 and Later Discoveries, Daphnis (S2005 S1)
The Satellites (Moons) of Uranus: Miranda, Ariel, Titania, Umbriel, Oberon, Smaller Satellites (Moons) of Uranus
The Satellites (Moons) of Neptune: Triton, Proteus, Nereid, Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Laomedeia,Halimede, Sao, Neso, Psamathe
The Satellites (Moons) of Pluto
Asteroids, Comets, and Interplanetary Debris
Pictures of Asteroids / Asteroid Size and Mass Distribution / Asteroids and Meteorites
Asteroids & Comets Visited So Far / Ceres and Vesta / The Trojan Asteroids / Earth's Trojan Asteroid(s)
The Rediscovery of Hermes / Hermes Close Approaches
Comets / The Breakup of Comet P73/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 / Comet P17/Holmes / 1857-58 Daumier Cartoons
Meteors, Meteoroids and Meteorites / Animation of the 2005 Perseid Meteor Shower / Meteor Craters / Meteorites
The Origin and Evolution of The Solar System
The Origin of the Solar System / The Episode of Planetary Bombardment / Orbital Regularities
The Melting and Differentiation of the Planets
The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Atmospheres
Background Physics: Light and Matter
Classical Descriptions of Light / Electromagnetism / Absorption, Emission, and Continuous Spectra / Black Body Radiation
Planck, Bohr and Einstein -- Quantum Physics and Relativity
Radioactivity / Thermonuclear Fusion / Main and Side Chains in Stellar Nucleosynthesis / Neutrinos
The Sun
Pictures of the Solar Atmosphere / The Sunspot Cycle / Coronal Mass Ejections / The Heliosphere
The Rotation of the Sun / Extreme Ultraviolet Images of the Sun
The Structure of the Sun and the Nature of its Surface
The Solar Interior
Heat Flow in the Solar Interior: Changes in Brightness, Temperature, Pressure and Density
Energy Production in the Core / The Proton-Proton Cycle (brief notes) / The Carbon Cycle (brief notes)
Heat Flow in the Solar Interior: The Flow of Radiation / The Radiative Zone
Heat Flow In Stars: General Principles / The Radiative Core (Zone) / The Convective Envelope (Zone)
Stars and Stellar Systems
Stellar Properties (includes The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram)
Variable Stars -- Cepheid Variables / Variable Stars -- Epsilon Aurigae
Open ("Galactic") Star Clusters / Globular Clusters
Emission Nebulae / Absorption Nebulae
Stellar Birthplaces ("smaller" links below are mostly works in progress)
The Tarantula Nebula and R136 / The Carina Nebula
Supernovae and Supernova Remnants
Stellar Evolution
Summary of Stellar Formation / From Interstellar Clouds to Protostellar Clouds
From Protostellar Clouds to Protostars
Review of Heat Flow Inside Stars / From Protostars to the Main Sequence
The Main Sequence (Under construction) / The Mass-Luminosity Diagram and Main Sequence Lifetimes
The Effect of Metals On Heat Flow Inside Stars / The Extremely Metal-Poor Galaxy AGC198691
The Fate of the Earth / The Mathematics of Stellar Mass Loss on Planetary Orbits
Planetary Nebulae and White Dwarfs / Mass Transfer in Binary Star Systems
Galaxies and The Universe
Our Galaxy and Its Satellites / The Milky Way
The Local Group / The Andromeda Galaxy
M81 and M82: A Cosmic Near Miss
Pictures of Other Galaxies / M104, The Sombrero Galaxy / NGC 55 / NGC 7252
Clusters of Galaxies / Abell 1689, A Massive Gravitational Lens
A Universe of Galaxies / The M31 Deep Field / GOODS Fornax Deep Image / Whole-Sky Maps of the Universe
Dark Matter in Galaxies / Dark Matter in the Universe
The Expansion of the Universe / The Observable Universe / In The Beginning
Light-Travel Times and Cosmic Distances
Appendices
Glossary (A - M) / Glossary (N - Z)
Astronomical and Physical "Constants" / Picky, Picky
Charles Messier's Catalog / Messier Catalog Index
Messier Nebulae / Open Clusters / Globular Clusters / Galaxies
Arp Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies / de Vaucouleurs Atlas of Galaxy Types / Hickson Compact Groups
Introduction to the NGC/IC/PGC Objects Pages / NGC Objects / IC Objects / PGC Objects
==
and for more information please view the following web pages
( please using the right click of your mouse, and Open Link in Next Private Window, )
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