Books

CDs

Events/Exhibits

Film/Video

by Gerald North.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2000.
356pp., 225 Illus. $39.95 US
ISBN: 0-521-62274-3.
Reviewed by David Topper, University of Winnipeg. Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9 Canada. E-mail: Topper@Uwinnipeg.ca


North's book is a comprehensive primer for the serious astronomer. Partially a personal account of three decades of observing the moon, this practical guide begins with naked eye observations of phases, eclipses, and librations of the moon, and some elementary physics about the tides. It then moves into telescopic observations, becoming a how-it manual about choosing telescopes (with information on eyepieces and magnification), followed by photography (tripods, lens, films, and exposures), plus a section on using video cameras and computers. There is a brief history of the manned and unmanned missions to the moon from 1959 to the Clementine probe of 1994 and the Lunar Prospector of 1998. The major section of the book, a chapter of almost 200 pages titled "A to Z of selected lunar landscapes," details 48 specific areas (such as craters) of the moon. Pointing to some famous sites (and sights!) and several "off the beaten track" things to see, it is a sort of visual guide for the telescopic traveler. The final chapter is on "Transient Lunar Phenomena" (TLP), namely mysterious changes in brightness or color, blurring, or even flashes of light that occasionally are observed (or, at least, are reported as seen) from small areas of the moon's surface.

For readers of Leonardo there is little in this book relevant to the art/science theme. But I did find the black and white drawings of some features of the moon executed by several artist/illustrator/observers to be lovely; these drawings, which often accompany corresponding photographs of specific lunar features, brought to mind the delicate watercolor sketches of the moon by Galileo. Perhaps this book might stimulate some contemporary artists to use the "landscape" of the moon as a motif for their own work?

While perusing this book I was reminded of other recent works about the moon. The Moon and the Western Imagination (1999) by Scott L. Montgomery, which I reviewed in LDR (Feb., 2000) and was reprinted in Leonardo 33 (2000), 333-334. Montgomery chronicles the moon since ancient times viewed from scientific, philosophical, literary, and artistic perspectives. The Heritage of Giotto's Geometry: Art and Science on the Eve of the Scientific Revolution (1991) by Samuel Y. Edgerton and Painting the Heavens: Art and Science in the Age of Galileo (1997) by Eileen Reeves contain historical material on the moon; the latter I reviewed in LDR (Jan., 1998), with an abridged version in Leonardo 31 (1998), 328. Another book, which I have not yet read, is Mapping and Naming the Moon: A History of Lunar Cartography and Nomenclature (Cambridge University Press, 1999) by Ewen A. Whitaker, a well-known scholar in the history of selenography. These books, along with North's Observing the Moon, display several contemporary approaches to the study of our closest celestial body.

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