Moon Atlas Widget

This is a simple and fun widget to learn about the features of the lunar surface that are visible from Earth. The lunar atlas is an orthographic render created from data taken by the Lunar Orbiter Missions (NASA) and provided by the USGS Astrogeology Research Program.

Right-click on the atlas to display the lunar feature selection menu. When a feature is selected, green markers (dots) are placed on the atlas at the locations of the selected feature with the exception of craters. Craters are selected by default.

Left-Click to view the information about the feature at the position of the mouse pointer. The widget only displays information about the currently selected feature type from the menu. If there is no matching feature type at that location in the database, the current "Cursor Position" appears in the information dialog. Clicking on the background away from the atlas will clear the feature information text.

Move the mouse around the atlas to view selenographic coordinates at the top of the widget.

For example, suppose you want to view information about lunar maria. Right-click to show the feature selection menu and select "Maria"- several green dots will appear noting the locations of the various lunar maria; left-click over any green dot to view the information about that mare.