Apollo 11 landed on the moon for the first time in human history. Just seconds after landing, Neil Armstrong said, "This is the place of tranquility. The eagle has landed here." Serenity was the name NASA chose for the site of the first lunar landing. It is located in the southwestern corner of the lunar plain known as the Sea of ??Tranquility.
But "Quiet Place" is just one of thousands of names based on geographical features on the moon.
But who will manage subsequent naming? Are they official?
In this video we explore naming features on the moon.
We'll also explore how officials manage these names and the strict rules for naming a place on the moon.
In 1610, Galileo published his famous painting of the moon.
Through the world's first telescope, he studied the moon up close and could create paintings that accurately reflected the moon's subtle features in a way that no one had ever seen before.
Although Galileo was actually the first to draw a map of the moon, no locations were named on the map.
Forty years later, astronomers Riccioli and Grimaldi created a new map of the moon.
This map divides the moon into 8 regions, named after the majestic peaks and plains between them, such as "the land of tranquility".
This map quickly became the basis for naming lunar features, and many of the original names are still in use today.
Centuries later, human space travel was born.
In 1959, the Soviet Union became the first country to launch a probe to the far side of the moon.
This detector perfectly imaged the far side of the moon that humans have never seen before. As the hidden side of the moon was gradually revealed, the Soviets named these features hidden on the back of the moon after Russian heroes and places. Over the next decade, the United States and the Soviet Union continued to acquire higher-quality images of the far side of the Moon and continued to name newly discovered features.
Although NASA often informally names various features on the moon, they do not actually have the authority to do so. When naming features of other planetary bodies, each name must be approved by the International Astronomical Union. Of course, as long as the relevant naming regulations are met. Not only can NASA recommend names, but anyone can propose them to the International Astronomical Union. For example: Almost all craters on the moon are named after deceased scientists or explorers, who often made significant contributions in their corresponding fields.
The common great plains (lunar maria) on the moon are mostly named after Latin names that can describe abstract concepts such as weather. Ridges like these found on the moon are mostly named after geologists. Although these names are generally associated with important figures in the scientific community, the size of lunar features does not necessarily reflect the importance of the corresponding scientists. There are spectacular large craters named after both Copernicus and Archimedes, while some scientific giants, such as Galileo and Newton, had large features named after them.
In 1970, the International Astronomical Union named the widest crater on the moon after "Apollo", and the smaller craters in this widest crater were named after Apollo 8 and Apollo. Named after astronaut No. 11. Later, nearby craters were named after deceased NASA pilots from the failed Apollo 1 and two major space accidents. Although these names may not be familiar to us now, in the future of space tourism, places like Apollo, Borman and Lovell are likely to be as common as New York, Paris and Tokyo.