#BEST MOON ATLAS FULL#

The above image is a portion of the Gassendi area at full zoom. You can then zoom in to get a larger view. In the example here, I've clicked on the crater Gassendi. Clicking on a feature brings up its name, along with some useful information about the feature and observing suggestions. In other words, it shows the current phase and libration of the moon, so you will know which features are on the limb and terminator. Another advantage is that the moon is positioned as you see it from your observing point on the Earth. I found Virtual Moon easier to use than Clementine Skimmer owing to the distortion-free, more legible basic lunar globe. (But definitely get the Lunar Orbiter images!) The process of downloading the basic Virtual Moon software is fairly quick, unless you also want more images from spacecraft - then it takes awhile. Overall, the Lunar Orbiter image quality is somewhat better than the images in the Clementine Skimmer program. This allows you to home in on a high-resolution image of a particular feature.

It also makes use of images taken by various spacecraft, mainly the Lunar Orbiter, but you can download pictures from Clementine, Apollo, and others, plus the Consolidated Lunar Atlas. The basic Virtual Atlas uses a high quality textured drawing of the moon. You'll be amazed at what you can get for nothing! Like Clementine Skimmer, Virtual Moon is freeware. Another program called 'Virtual Moon Atlas' has become available for downloading from: In the October 2000 NightTimes, I reviewed the 'Clementine Skimmer' computer program which provides a lunar atlas based on images from the Clementine spacecraft.

Best moon atlas