March 18, 2009

Manning Moon Ball

image by Carol Manning-Macris

Did you own a Manning Moon Ball back in the 1950s or 60s? Have you even seen one in an old advertisement in Sky & Telescope or the ancient Edmunds catalog? Frank Manning was colorful figure in New Orleans from the 1920s through the 70s. He is apparently most famous for being a body guard and personal secretary for Governor Huey Long, and he was also an avid amateur astronomer. His daughter, Carol Manning-Macris, has sent this map that accompanied the Manning Moon Ball, one of only a few pieces of her father's history that survived Hurricane Katrina. She would like to know if any one has information on her father's Moon work. This simplified map is one of the few I know of from the USA 50 years ago. It identifies a few dozen features and uses the English names for the maria, a few mostly discarded informal names (Stag's Horn Mtns and the Percy Mnts), and has two names significantly out of place (Condorcet and Mersenius). I haven't had a chance to check my old S&T's - does anyone know about Manning and his Moon Ball?

Chuck Wood

Yesterday's LPOD: Another One From the LPOD Photo Gallery

Tomorrow's LPOD: Franz & Orientale

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