Moon_pictures

Feature

Significance

My pictures

Moon

Large satellite

Earthshine

Twice reflected sunlight

Mare / highland dichotomy

Two materials with distinct compositions

Apennines

Imbrium basin rim

Copernicus

Archetypal large complex crater

Altai Scarp

Nectaris basin rim

Theophilus, Cyrillus, Catharina

Crater sequence illustrating stages of degradation

Clavius

Lacks basin features in spite of its size

Mare Crisium

Mare contained in large circular basin

Aristarchus

Very bright crater with dark bands on its Wang

Proclus

Oblique-impact rays

Gassendi

Floor-fractured crater

Sinus Iridum

Very large crater with missing rim

Straight wall (Rupes Recta)

Best example of a lunar fault

Petavius

Crater with domed and fractured floor

Schroter's Valley

Giant sinuous rille

Mare Serenitatis dark edges

Distinct mare areas with different compositions

Alpine Valley

Lunar graben

Posidinius

Floor-fractured crater

Fracastorius

Crater with subsided and fractured floor

Aristarchus Plateau

Mysterious uplifted region mantled with pyroclastics

Pica

Isolated Imbrium basin-ring fragment

Hyginus Rille

Rille containing rimless collapse pits

Messier & Messier A

Oblique ricochet-impact pair

Mare Frigoris

Arcuate mare of uncertain origin

Archimedes

Large crater lacking central peak

Hipparchus

Subject of first drawing of a single crater

Aridaeus Rille

Long, linear graben

Schiller

Possible oblique impact

Taruntius

Young floor-fractured crater

Arago Alpha & Beta

Volcanic domes

Serpentine Ridge

Basin inner-ring segment

Lacus Mortis

Strange crater with rille and ridge

Triesnecker Rilles

Rille family

Grimaldi basin

Small two-ring basin

Bailly

Barely discernible basin

Sabine & Ritter

Possible twin impacts

Schickard

Crater floor with Orientale basin ejecta stripe

Janssen Rille

Rare example of a highland rille

Bessel ray

Ray of uncertain origin near Bessel

Marius Hills

Complex of volcanic domes and hills

Wargentin

Crater filled to the rim with lava or ejecta

Mersenius

Domed floor cut by secondary craters

Maurolycus

Region of saturation cratering

Regiomontanus central peak

Possible volcanic peak

Alphonsus dark spots

Dark-halo eruptions on crater floor

Cauchy region

Fault, rilles and domes

Gruithuisen Delta & Gamma

Volcanic domes formed with viscous lavas

Cayley Plains

Light, smooth plains of uncertain origin

Davy crater chain

Result of comet-fragment impacts

Cruger

Possible volcanic caldera

Lamont

Possible buried basin

Hippalus Rilles

Rilles concentric to Humorum basin

Baco

Unusually smooth crater floor and surrounding plains

Mare Australe

Partially flooded ancient basin

Reiner Gamma

Conspicuous swirl and magnetic anomaly

Rheita Valley

Basin secondary-crater chain

Schiller-Zucchius basin

Badly degraded overlooked basin

Kies Pi

Volcanic dome

Mosting A

Simple crater close to middle of lunar near side

Rumker Hills

Large volcanic dome

Imbrium sculpture

Basin ejecta

Descartes

Apollo 16 landing site; highland volcanism?

Hortensius dames

Dome field north of Hortensius

Hadley Rille

Lava channel near Apollo 15 landing site

Fra Mauro formation

Apollo 14 landing site on Imbrium ejecta

Flamsteed P

Proposed young volcanic crater & Surveyor 1 landing site

Copernicus secondary craters

Rays and craterlets near Pytheas

Humboldtianum basin

Multi-ring impact basin

Sulpicius Gallus dark mantle

Ash eruptions northwest of crater

Atlas dark-halo craters

Explosive volcanic pits on floor of Atlas

Smythii basin

Difficult - to-observe basin scarp and mare

Copernicus H

Dark-halo impact crater

Ptolemaeus B

Saucerlike depression on the floor of Ptolemaeus

W. Bond

Large crater degraded by Imbrium ejecta

Sirsalis Rille

Procellarum basin radial rilles

Lambert R

Buried 'ghost' crater

Sinus Aestuum

Eastern dark-mantle volcanic deposit

Orientale basin

Youngest large impact basin

Hesiodus A

Concentric crater

Linne

Small crater once thought to have disappeared

Plato craterlets

Crater pits at limits of detection

Pitatus

Crater with concentric rilles

Langrenus rays

Aged ray system

Prinz Rilles

Rille system near the crater Prinz

Humboldt

Crater with central peaks and dark spots

Peary

Difficult-to-observe polar crater

Valentine Dome

Volcanic dome

Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins

Small craters near the Apollo 11 landing site

De Gasparis Rilles

Area with many rilles

Gylden Valley

Part of the Imbrium radial sculpture

Dionysius rays

Unusual and rare dark rays

Drygalski

Large South Pole-region crater

Procellarum basin

Moon's biggest basin?

Leibnitz Mountains

Rim of South Pole-Aitken basin

Inghirami Valley

Orientale basin ejecta

Imbrium lava flows

Mare lava-flow boundaries

Ina caldera

D-shaped young volcanic caldera

100

Mare Marginis swirls

Possible magnetic-field deposits

Lunar 100

In the April 2004 issue of Sky &Telescope noted planetary scientist and author Charles A. Wood presented the astronomical community with his answer to deep sky observing lists such as the Messier and the Herschel 400 - The Lunar 100. His stated intention was to provide the observer with a list of features that provide visual interest while at the same time offering an opportunity to learn about the Moon's fascinating history and geography. The challenge he presents through the list is to not only see these features on the surface of the Moon, but to think about them, and to try to understand what they mean about the Earth's natural satellite.
Some of the items on the list are as obvious and visible as earthshine on the young Moon and the basic light and dark pattern that we interpret as The Man in the Moon or the Hare. Others will challenge the most experienced and diligent of observers. How far can you go on the Lunar 100? (As a general rule, the higher the number on the list, the more challenging the feature will be to see.)
I am still working on shooting pictures of these features. The current status is shown below.