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How did the Moon come to be? The leading theory is that a Mars-sized body once hit Earth and the resulting debris (from both Earth and the impacting body) accumulated to form the Moon. Scientists believe that the Moon was formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago (the age of the oldest collected lunar rocks). When the Moon formed, its outer layers melted under very high temperatures, forming the lunar crust. During the time the Moon was intesivly hit by small and bigger pieces of rock forming lots of craterlets on it's surface. |
 Current Moon phase Click on the images to go to the related pages Source used for all below information : Virtual Moon Atlas (http://www.astrosurf.com/avl/UK_index.html) |
| Lunar Eclipses |  |
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|---|---|---|
| Moon rise and set |  |
Rise and Set of the Moon |
| The Moon |  |
The Moon in apogee and perigee |
| Lunar Mosaic's |  |
All kind of mosaic's of the Moon |
| Archimedes Longitude: 4.0° West Latitude: 29.7° North Quadrant: North-West Area:Montes Apenninus region Wide: 83x83Km |
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Circular formation. Steep slopes supporting Mount Archimedes to the South and Bancroft to the South-West. Pretty high walls in terraces. Very flat floor filled with lava. Craterlets. Best observation: First Quarter or 6 days after Full Moon. |
| Casatus Longitude: 30.5° West Latitude: 72.6° South Quadrant: South-West Area:Moon South limb Wide: 114x114Km |
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Circular formation forming a double crater with Klaproth. Pretty steep slopes supporting Casatus A to the west and Casatus H to the east. High walls ridden by several craterlets as Casatus J to the south. Flat floor supporting Casatus C to the north and separated from Klaproth by a line of crest. Best observation: 3 days after First Quarter or 2 days after Last Quarter. |
| Clavius Longitude: 14.4° West Latitude: 58.4° South Quadrant: South-West Area:Moon South limb Wide: 93x93Km |
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Damaged circular formation. Steep slopes supporting crater Blancanus to the South-West. Very high walls ridden by Porter to the North-East, Rutherford to the South-East, Clavius K to the South-West and Clavius L to the West. Large flat floor with Clavius D, C, N, J and JA on an arc of circle. Numerous craterlets who form a chain to the South-West. Lines of crests. Best observation: 1 day after First Quarter or Last Quarter. |
| Copernicus Longitude: 20.0° West Latitude: 9.7° North Quadrant: North-West Area:Copernic crater region Wide: 93x93Km |
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Young and isolated formation with hexagonal form. Bright rays all around. Very steep slopes dominant Mare Insularum of 900 m tormented and supporting Fauth to the South and Gay-Lussac to the North. Floor flatter to the North that to the South. Three central mountains (1200 m). Hills and ruins in the arena. Best observation: 2 days after First Quarter or 1 day after Last. |
| Deslandres Longitude: 5.2° West Latitude: 32.5° South Quadrant: South-West Area:Tycho crater East region Wide: 228x228Km |
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Complex circular formation. Pretty steep slopes marked by craters with Walter to the East Lexell to the South Ball to the South-West and Hell to the East. Very damaged walls. Flat floor strewn with many craters with a South North oriented chain to the North-East. Hills and lines of crest. Rilles and craterlets. Best observation: First Quarter or 6 days after Full Moon. |
| Gassendi Longitude: 39.9° West Latitude: 17.5° South Quadrant: South-West Area:Mare Humorum region Wide: 110x110Km |
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Circular formation situated on the North bank of Mare Humorum. Steep slopes to the North gobbled to the South in Mare Humorum and supporting the couple Gassendi A and B to the North. Walls higher to the West and gobbled to the South in Mare Humorum. Very large flat floor covered by Rimae Gassendi. Internal mountainous ring. Double central mountain 1200 m high. Hills craterlets and lines of crest. Best observation: 3 days after First Quarter or 2 days after Last Quarter.> |
| Gauss Longitude: 79.1° West Latitude: 34.5° North Quadrant: North-East Area:Moon North-East limb Wide: 177x177Km |
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Circular formation Pretty steep slopes, high walls ridden by several craterlets whose Gauss Has & B to the east. Very large flat floor with internal craters whose Gauss E and a small central mountain. Best observation: 2 days after New Moon or 1 day after Full Moon.> |
| Hansteen Longitude: 52.0° West Latitude: 11.5° South Quadrant: South-West Area:South-West part of Oceanus Procellarum Wide: 45x45Km |
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Circular formation forming an interesting couple with Billy. Steep slopes supporting Rima Hansteen to the South-West Hansteen A and B to the South and Hansteen E to the North-East. Little high walls in light terraces. Tormented floor. Hills off center. Best observation: 4 days after First Quarter or 3 days after Last Quarter. |
| Hevelius Longitude: 67.3° West Latitude: 2.2° North Quadrant: North-West Area:Moon West limb Wide: 106x106Km |
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Circular formation. Pretty steep slopes supporting Cavalerius to the North Lohrmann to the South and many craterlets to the East and to the West. Little high walls supporting Hevelius H F and B to the West and Hevelius C G and E to the North-East. Very large flat floor supporting Hevelius A to the North. Small central mountain. Contains Rimae Hevelius. Best observation: 6 days after First Quarter or 5 days after Last Quarter. |
| Humboldt Longitude: 80.0° West Latitude: 27.2° South Quadrant: South-East Area:Moon East-South-East limb Wide: 206x206Km> |
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Circular formation situated in the zone of librations. Little steep slopes supporting Phillips to the West and Barnard to the South-East. Very large floor with mountain chain, craterlets, rilles and radial grooves. Best observation: 2 days after New Moon or 1 days after Full Moon. |
| Julius Ceasar Longitude: 15.4° East Latitude: 9.0° North Quadrant: North-East Area:East of Mare Tranquillitatis region Wide: 90x90Km |
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Wrecked formation of South-East North-West oriented rectangular shape. Steep slopes to the South-West and collapsed to the North-East. Flat floor filled with somber lava, hill, wrinkle ridges and craterlets Best observation: 6 days after New Moon or 5 days after Full Moon. |
| Mare Crisium Longitude: 59.0° East Latitude: 17.0° North Quadrant: North-East Area:Moon East-North-East limb Wide: 620x570Km |
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Formation with crater shape lengthened West East. Very flat floor with ring of wrinkle ridge to the periphery and ghost craters to the South. Craterlets. 176 000 km2. 3.85 billion years old. Best observation: 3 days after New Moon or 2 days after Full Moon. |
| Mare Frigoris Longitude: 20.0° West Latitude: 58.0° North Quadrant: North-West Area:Moon North limb Wide: 1800x200Km |
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Lengthened West East and irregular formation. 436 000 km2. Very somber lava. Best observation: 2 days after First Quarter or 1 day after Last Quarter. |
| Montes Apenninus Longitude: 3.0° West Latitude: 20.0° North Quadrant: North-West Area:Montes Apenninus region Wide: 950x100Km |
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South wall of Mare Imbrium. Circular form oriented South-West North-East. Slopes to 30° on the average. Best observation: First Quarter or 6 days after Full Moon. |
| Plato Longitude: 9.3° West Latitude: 51.6° North Quadrant: North-West Area:Moon North limb Wide: 101x101Km |
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Circular formation crushing the chain of Alps. Transient lunar phenomena (clouds in 1871). Pretty steep slopes supporting Platon G to the East. Little high walls with 2000m summits and a colapsed part to the West. Immense flat floor filled with somber lava. Clear spots and craterlets. Best observation: 1 day after First Quarter or Last Quarter. |
| Ptolemaeus Longitude: 1.8° West Latitude: 9.2° South Quadrant: South-West Area:Ptolemaeus crater region Wide: 153x153Km> |
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Circular formation forming a remarkable trio with Alphonsus and Arzachel. Little steep slopes riddled by many craterlets and supporting a chain of craterlets to the North-East. High walls. Very large flat floor containing Ammonius and several ghost craters. Craterlets depressions and hills. Best observation: First Quarter or 6 days after Full Moon. |
| Pythagoras Longitude: 62.8° West Latitude: 63.5° North Quadrant: North-West Area:North-North_West Limb Wide: 133x133Km> |
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Circular formation. Steep slopes crushed by Babbage to the South-East. Very high walls with terraces. Extensive flat floor filled with lava. Double central mountain, hill depressions and craterlets. Best observation: 5 days after First Quarter or 4 days after Last Quarter. |
| Rupes Altai Longitude: 23.0° East Latitude: 24.0° South Quadrant: South-East Area:Catharina crater region Wide: 480x0Km |
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1km high cliff, shapped like a arc of a circle, from Tacinus in the North to Piccolomini in the South.
Best observation: 5 days after New Moon or 4 days after Full Moon. |
| Schiller Longitude: 40.0° West Latitude: 51.8° South Quadrant: South-West Area: Moon South-South-West limb Wide: 174x69Km |
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Very lengthened and South-East North-West oriented formation. Seems to come from the fusion of 2 craters or from a low-angled meteorite impact. Pretty steep slopes supporting Bayer to the East and Schiller H to the North-East. High walls with terraces to the South. Very flat floor to the South-East and tormented to the North- east. Mountain to the North-West. Craterlets. Best observation: 3 days after First Quarter or 2 days after Last Quarter.> |
| Sinus Iridum Longitude: 32.0° West Latitude: 45.0° North Quadrant: North-West Area:North-West part of Mare Imbrium Wide: 400x260Km |
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Very large crater shaped formation of 237.000 km2. Steep slopes constituted by North slopes of Montes Jura. Walls constituted by Montes Jura gobbled to the South in the lava of Mare Imbrium. Flat floor filled with lava and situated 600 m lower than Mare Imbrium. Best observation: 3 days after First Quarter or 2 days after Last Quarter. |
| Theophilus Longitude: 26.4° East Latitude: 11.4° South Quadrant: South-East Area:Theophilus crater region Wide: 100x100Km |
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Circular formation forming a remarkable trio with Cyrillus and Catharina. Tormented and steep slopes overhanging Sinus Asperitatis from 1200m and supporting Cyrillus to the South-East Theophilus F to the West and Mädler to the East. Very high walls with terraces overlapped by Theophilus B to the North-West. Flat floor. Imposing central mountain 1400 m high with 4 summits. Line of crests hills and craterlets. Best observation: 5 days after New Moon of 4 days after Full Moon. |
| Tycho Longitude: 11.2° West Latitude: 43.3° South Quadrant: South-West Area:Tycho crater region Wide: 83x83Km |
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Very young circular formation (100 millions of years). Very steep and tormented slopes supporting Street to the South Pictet to the East Tycho E to the North-West and Tycho B to the West. Very high walls in very important terraces. Flat floor. Central mountain 1500 m high with three main summits. Crests and hill lines. Craterlets. Furnace of the most important radiating system. Best observation: 1 day after First Quarter of Last Quarter. |
| Vallis Alpes Longitude: 3.0° East Latitude: 49.0° North Quadrant: North-East Area:Moon North limb Wide: 130x11Km |
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South-West North-East orientated immense fault, raised cliffs on each side of the valley and a 700m width rille on the valley floor. Best observation: First Quarter or 6 days after Full Moon. |
| Vallis Schroter Longitude: 51.0° West Latitude: 26.0° North Quadrant: North-West Area:Aristarchus Area Wide: 160x10Km |
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Remarkable rill. Directs to the North then turns to the West. Width varying from 6 to 10km, decreasing to 500m to its West extremity. Begins 25km to the North of Herodotus by a lengthened craterlet called "the head of the cobra". Floor is covered by a 200m wide rile. Best observation: 4 days after First Quarter or 3 days after Last Quarter. |