USGS Releases First Complete Geologic Map of the Moon (engadget.com) 23
schwit1 shares a report from Engadget: The USGS (with help from NASA and the Lunar Planetary Institute) has released the first complete geologic map of the Moon, providing a truly comprehensive look at our nearest cosmic neighbor. The 1:5,000,000 scale map is color-coded to help you quickly identify geological features, including multiple crater types, plains and other features. The team created the map using a mix of Apollo-era maps and data from recent satellite missions, including the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Japans SELENE. Scientists redrew the historical maps to help them line up with the present-day sets while preserving valuable notes. They also established consistent descriptions of features to prevent the confusion that could happen with past maps.
Backside of the moon? (Score:1, Interesting)
Does it include the other side of the moon?
It would make an interesting wallpaper to have a background with a moon moving across the sky which gradually rotates.
Re:Backside of the moon? (Score:4, Funny)
Does it include the other side of the moon?
Pink Floyd completed that [wikipedia.org] a while ago.
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The detailed moon map shows no large Nazi installations where they might be hiding out. Sorry to disappoint.
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If you'd read just one of links, you'd have known that yes, it does include the backside of the Moon. Even TF Title strongly implies that by using the word "complete".
Re:Backside of the moon? (Score:4, Funny)
RTFA???? Heretic!
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If you'd read just one of links, you'd have known that yes, it does include the backside of the Moon. Even TF Title strongly implies that by using the word "complete".
Methinks it was an attempt at humor. In the US, one's backside can sometimes be referred to as a "moon" as is evidence of the verb "to moon" (eg. show one's buttocks).
Getting mooned. (Score:2)
Import into a game engine, and turn on VR mode.
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Import into a game engine
It is really very easy to do that directly from the USGS website, which has great export support.
This video [youtu.be] demonstrates how to import maps from the site into the Terresculptor [demenzunmedia.com] height map editor (which is free to download & use, but not open source) in a couple of minutes.
Aesthetic score: poor (Score:2)
Is it just me, or is that one ugly map? Really garish, and poor readability of the pastel text colors.
Done already (Score:2)
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Actually Google Earth did it first and better. I tried using Apple maps to go from my base in Herschel Crater to visit Tranquility Base, but Siri routed me through Tsoilkovski first.
This is not a basic navigation-type map, it plots out the geology of the moon. It's of more interest to people wanting to live and work there rather than the casual tourist.
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I had a set of maps from back in the 70's that look very similar. I'm sure the new ones are orders of magnitude more accurate, but I wouldn't call these the first. I wonder if I still have them stuck in the attic somewhere.
Why "geologic"? (Score:5, Insightful)
Shouldn't it be selenologic?
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I suppose technically you're right, and some people did refer to it that way in the 1960s,but once adequate maps started to be compiled for Mars and Mercury it became a nuisance and "geology" became the convention no matter which planetary body you're examining.
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Don't you think there's something Huxleyan about that logic? Why make the language smaller, changing the meaning of an existing word when you already have perfectly good ones?
Yeah, I bitch about "blueprint", too.
Geologic? (Score:2)
Definition of geology: relating to the study of the earth's physical structure and substance.
So...what does that have to do with the moon?