September 7, 2013
A Classic Returns
Goodacre maps by University of London
A little more than 100 years ago the leading British selenographer released a major lunar map. Walter Goodacre, who in 1931
published a now rare book describing the Moon, including a reduced version of his even more rare 1910 map. Now a high
resolution version of the early map, both in its original 25 individual sheets and assembled as a complete map, is available
online at a University of London webpage. This was not the most detailed lunar map of its time - Schmidt's 1878 charts showed
more features - but this was more usable precisely because it wasn't cluttered with every observable feature. This was a
simplified map, lacking albedo patterns and using simple rings for crater, but it was based on measured positions so was more
accurate than earlier maps. I just compared some of these 1910 maps with the versions published in the 1931 book. There
may be differences but I didn't find any. So although I have always wanted a copy of the classic 1910 map, I've had access to its content since I got the book in the 1970s.
Chuck Wood
Thanks to Jim Mosher for alerting me to the online availability of this map! And thanks to the University of London for placing
it online.
Related Links
21st Century Atlas chart 12.
Yesterday's LPOD: Dreaming in Color
Tomorrow's LPOD: All You Need To Know
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