π in the sky ·

If you like space, you will love this. The 2017 π Day art imagines the digits of π as a star catalogue with constellations of extinct animals and plants. The work is featured in the article Pi in the Sky at the Scientific American SA Visual blog.

The Moon, near side

Expect stunning vistas, infinite line of sight and zero fresh air. Bring a space suit.

The map is based on the 3.6 gigapixel image of the near side of the moon taken by the Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter Camera. Topological annotations taken from Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN). The resolution is 100 meters per pixel.

▲ Icons and typography for lunar topological features.

photometry

Sato, H., M.S. Robinson, B. Hapke, B.W. Denevi and A.K. Boyd (2104) Resolved Hapke parameter maps of the Moon, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 119, 1775-1805,

mosaic production

Wagner, R. V. Speyerer, E. J. Robinson, M. S., LROC Team, 2015, New Mosaicked Data Products from the LROC Team, 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (poster)

original mosaic

Speyerer, E.J., Robinson, M.S., Denevi, B.W., and the LROC Science Team, 2011, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera global morphological map of the Moon, Lunar Planetary Science Conference, Abstract #2387.

mission

Robinson, M. S., et al. (2010), Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) instrument overview, Space Sci. Rev., 150(1), 81–124,

nomenclature

Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN), International Astronomical Union (IAU)