Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Moon's Largest Craters and Basins

Images and Topographic Maps from LRO, GRAIL, and Kaguya

  • Book
  • © 2016

Overview

Authors:
  1. Charles J. Byrne

    1. Middletown, USA

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Features a false-color map of the topography of each crater and basin image, as well as gravity maps for every feature
  • Includes imagery from the latest spacecraft such as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and GRAIL missions
  • Combines data from several sources on each of the large features covered, making this a useful research reference

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 34.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction to the Sequenced Catalog of the Moon’s Largest Craters and Basins

    • Charles J. Byrne
    Pages 1-6

  3. Generating the Sequence of Features

    • Charles J. Byrne
    Pages 7-13

  4. Feature Diameter as a Function of Sequence Number

    • Charles J. Byrne
    Pages 15-20

  5. Initial Depth and Later Isostatic Compensation

    • Charles J. Byrne
    Pages 21-27

  6. Bouguer Gravity Anomaly Patterns of Impact Features

    • Charles J. Byrne
    Pages 29-34

  7. The Pre-Nectarian Period

    • Charles J. Byrne
    Pages 35-128

  8. The Nectarian Period

    • Charles J. Byrne
    Pages 129-174

  9. The Early Imbrian Period

    • Charles J. Byrne
    Pages 175-184

  10. The Late Imbrian Period

    • Charles J. Byrne
    Pages 185-192

  11. Back Matter

    Pages 193-246
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

This most recent book from lunar expert Charles J. Byrne combines the latest comprehensive imagery, topography and gravity data from all three recent Moon missions, Kaguya, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and GRAIL. These major polar-orbit surveys are presented here in compact form for the convenience of amateur and practical astronomers concerned with the Moon. Chosen from the Near and Far Side's large craters and basins over 200 km in diameter, each of the 71 highlighted features is depicted with a two-page presentation of the data that includes false color topographic maps next to the mission images. Additionally, the features are presented in the estimated chronological sequence of their creation, based on a consideration of stratigraphy (overlapping layers from neighboring features) and the relative degradation of surface features.  Using this sequence as a way to convey the relative ages of lunar features, the author presents various theories concerning the Moon’s impact and thermal history e.g. the available evidence allows for constraints to be placed on the duration of the Late Heavy Bombardment period. The relationships between impact dynamics and variations in the gravity field of the Moon are also discussed. The new mission data makes possible this renewed conjecture about the history and evolution of the Moon, which is presented here with much worthwhile information for amateurs and professionals alike.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Middletown, USA

    Charles J. Byrne

About the author

Most of Charles J. Byrne's career after receiving a BSEE from RPI and MSEE from Caltech has been spent at Bell Laboratories as a researcher in communications and a manager of the development of operations systems for communication networks.

During the Apollo project, he moved to Bellcom, an ATT subsidiary that served as the system engineering arm for the Apollo project managers at NASA Headquarters, where he was responsible for planning for the selection and certification of landing sites for Apollo. This entailed setting requirements and planning operations for the Lunar Obiter missions. This generated an interest in the features of the Moon that led to authoring two Springer books; “Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Near Side of the Moon” (2005) and “The Far Side of the Moon, a Photographic Guide” (2008).  Charles J. Byrne also authored the Springer Brief, “The Moon’s Near Side Megabasin and Far Side Bulge” (2013), partly based on a peer-reviewed paper in Earth, Moon, and Planets (2007).

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Moon's Largest Craters and Basins

  • Book Subtitle: Images and Topographic Maps from LRO, GRAIL, and Kaguya

  • Authors: Charles J. Byrne

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22032-1

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-22031-4Published: 02 December 2015

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-36872-6Published: 29 October 2016

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-22032-1Published: 19 November 2015

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: IX, 246

  • Number of Illustrations: 23 b/w illustrations, 156 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Popular Science in Astronomy, Astronomy, Observations and Techniques, Planetology

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation