In 1967, Lunar Orbiter Mission 4 sent back to Earth a superb series of photographs of the surface of the Moon, despite severe degradation caused by scanning artifacts and the reconstruction processes involved in transmission from lunar orbit.
Using 21st century techniques, Charles Byrne - previously System Engineer of the Apollo Program for Lunar Orbiter Photography - has removed the artifacts and imperfections to produce the most comprehensive and beautifully detailed set of images of the lunar surface.
The book has been organized to make it easy for astronomers to use, enabling ground-based images and views to be compared with the Orbiter photograph. All features have been identified with their current IAU-approved names, and each photograph has been located in terms of latitude and longitude. To help practical astronomers, all the photographs are systematically related to an Earth-based view.
Using 21st century techniques, Charles Byrne - previously System Engineer of the Apollo Program for Lunar Orbiter Photography - has removed the artifacts and imperfections to produce the most comprehensive and beautifully detailed set of images of the lunar surface.
The book has been organized to make it easy for astronomers to use, enabling ground-based images and views to be compared with the Orbiter photograph. All features have been identified with their current IAU-approved names, and each photograph has been located in terms of latitude and longitude. To help practical astronomers, all the photographs are systematically related to an Earth-based view.
From the reviews:
Choice Outstanding Title! (January 2006)
"With plans to return astronauts to the Moon, our nearest planetary body is of obvious interest at the moment. ... The book has been organised to make it easy for astronomers to use ... . the quality of reproduction in this volume is excellent and readers will undoubtedly spend endless hours vicariously exploring the lunar surface. " (International Space Review, 2006)
Choice Outstanding Title! (January 2006)
"With plans to return astronauts to the Moon, our nearest planetary body is of obvious interest at the moment. ... The book has been organised to make it easy for astronomers to use ... . the quality of reproduction in this volume is excellent and readers will undoubtedly spend endless hours vicariously exploring the lunar surface. " (International Space Review, 2006)