Soviet Lunar Images |
Soviet Lunar Images |
Jun 28 2005, 04:49 PM
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Solar System Cartographer Group: Members Posts: 10184 Joined: 5-April 05 From: Canada Member No.: 227 |
Here's another very interesting and little known topic, so this is a chance to ask or to post about it.
I am looking for information on the Soviet Union's lunar missions. Actually I have lots already, but you can always use a bit more. Specifically, consider this question: what areas were photographed by the Soviet lunar orbiters, Lunas 12, 19 and 22? First I must say that these were NOT systematic mapping missions, they were tests of experimental imaging systems, and the SU never undertook any systematic mapping of the Moon. So coverage is limited. I have searched high and low for images from these missions, helped especially by the extremely talented and knowledgeable Don Mitchell. For this post I'm going to stick to Luna 19, coming back to the others later. Between us, Don and I have located five Luna 19 images, often of very poor quality (photocopies of prints from magazines, microfilm of russian newspapers, etc.) I reprojected them into approximate mapping geometry and then searched for their locations on the Moon. Result, the first ever (AFAIK) index map of Luna 19 coverage. When I was in Moscow I asked for this but got nowhere, and I'm not sure they ever did it, or certainly didn't publish it. The area often reported as the focus of Luna 19 images refers in fact only to one orbit. So, here's the index map; and if anybody can track down any OTHER Luna 19 images I would be VERY grateful for the information. Phil -------------------- ... because the Solar System ain't gonna map itself.
Also to be found posting similar content on https://mastodon.social/@PhilStooke Maps for download (free PD: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...Cartography.pdf NOTE: everything created by me which I post on UMSF is considered to be in the public domain (NOT CC, public domain) |
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Dec 27 2005, 11:20 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 200 Joined: 20-November 05 From: Mare Desiderii Member No.: 563 |
(This seems like a reasonable topic to revive for this question...)
Soviet-themed names were apparently assigned to the apparent features on the lunar farside based on Luna 3 images, as depicted on this CCCP postage stamp. According to the APOD text, the features named include "the Sea of Moscow, the Soviet Mountains, the Bay of Astronauts, and the Sea of Dreams". (I've only checked the last one with a machine translator.) Perhaps other features are named too? The Sea of Moscow name is still widely used (although the Latin appears different - Mare Moscoviense vs old Mare Moscovrae), but the others appear to be long gone. I'm curious about these old names. Is there a better map showing their locations? Are there more of them? Did they die out because the features turned out not to be real, through politics, or for some other reason? (FWIW, here is a Usenet post I made some years ago with similar musings, mainly about Mare Desiderii.) |
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