Encyclopedia of Lunar Science

ISBN-13: 9783319145402 / Angielski / Twarda / 2023 / 968 str.

Brian Cudnik

Opis

A very useful reference work for a broad audience, not limited to the professional lunar scientist: general astronomers, researchers, theoreticians, practitioners, graduate students, undergraduate students, and astrophysicists as well as geologists and engineers. The articles will include topics of varying technical levels so that the top scientists of the field will find this work a benefit as well the graduate students and the budding lunar scientist. The title will include all current areas of lunar science, with the topic entries being established tertiary literature. The work will be a readable but technically suitable to most advanced undergraduate and graduate students. A few examples of topic areas are as follows: Astronomers and Astronauts, Basaltic Volcanism, Lunar Chemistry, Time and Motion Coordinates, Cosmic Weathering through Meteoritic Impact, Environment, Geology, Geologic History, Impacts and Impact Processes, Lunar Surface Processes, Origin and Evolution Theories, Regolith, Stratigraphy, Tectonic Activity, Topography, Weathering through ionizing radiation from the solar wind, solar flares, and cosmic rays.

Spis treści

Albedo/photometric mapping.- Ancient Lunar Dynamo / magnetic field.- Atmosphere, evolution of.- Atmosphere, present (including sodium enhancements).- Basaltic volcanism.- Breccias.- Chemistry of lunar surface.- Core properties.- Craters-ages and evolution.- Craters-concentric.- Crater counting / densities.- Craters-secondaries.- Craters-sizes and morphologies.- Dark Halo Lunar Craters.- Differentiation and Internal Structure.- Digital Elevation Models.- Domes, volcanic domes, dome fields.- Eclipses, Lunar (and thermal effects on the lunar surface).- Electrical and electromagnetic properties of lunar surface.- Electrostatic Dust Transport.-
Ejecta ridges, physical properties.- Geology.- Geology (Apollo and Luna landing sites).- Giant Impact Hypothesis (Lunar Origin).- Gravity mapping.- Highlands, farside.- Highlands-Mare Boundaries.- Highlands, nearside.- Hypervelocity impact phenomena, natural and laboratory.- Impact Ejecta.- Impacts, past.- Impacts, present.- Interaction with solar wind and cosmic rays.- Interior.- Isotopic History and Properties.- KREEP (potassium, K; Rare Earth Elements; Potassium).- Lava tubes, volcanic features.- Lunar Chronology.- Lunar environment.- Lunar Geochemistry.- Lunar magnetism.- Lunar Melts.- Lunar Meteorites.- Lunar Petrology.- Lunar Remote Sensing.- Lunar Samples.- Lunar Swirls.- Lunar Volatiles.- Magma Ocean.- Manned spaceflight to the Moon, past and future.- Mapping.- Mare basaltic lavas.- MASCON and gravitational profile.- Mineralogy of lunar crater central peaks.- Minerals, oxides (ilmenite, spinels, armalcolite).- Minerals, phosphates.- Minerals, silicates (pyroxene, plagioclase feldspar, olivine, silica minerals).- Minerals, sulfides (troilite and others).- Moment of Inertia.- Moonquakes.- Natural resources.- Optical Maturity (OMAT).- Orbital dynamics.- Origin and evolution, surface / crust.- Origin and evolution, interior.- Paleomagnetism.- People (scientists, astronauts).- Physical Libration.- Plasma Environment.- Polar environment.- Radiation from moon, reflection and emission.- Radiation, ionizing.- Radiometry.- Rays, ejecta patterns.- Regional distribution of lunar rock types.- Regolith, depth / vertical structure.- Regolith (dust properties including grain size and distribution).- Regolith, spectral properties, evolution and maturity.- Rocks, highland pristine (Igneous and monomict breccias).-Rocks, spectral properties of highland rocks.- Soil variations with depth.- Soil Simulants.- Spectral analysis of lunar samples.- Stratigraphy and relative ages of lunar surface units.- Thermal properties, bulk.- Thermal properties, surface.- Titanium abundances / distribution.- Topography mapping.- Transient Phenomena-Plausible.- Transient Phenomena-Doubtful.- Unmanned missions.- Vapor Mobilized Elements (including vapor transport).- Volcanic glasses.- Water ice deposits.- Weathering agents and processes.

O autorze

Professor Brian Cudnik serves as Laboratory Specialist for the Physics Program at Prairie View A&M University (a part of the Texas A&M University system) in Texas. He has been at this position for almost 21 years and has been at Prairie View A&M for a total of 23 years. His prior position was that of Research Assistant at the Solar Observatory. He has served as coordinator of the Lunar Meteoritic Impact Search section of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO) since January 2000, two months after making the first confirmed visual observation of a meteoroid impact on the Moon during the Leonid storm of November 1999.

He has published papers and posters on various astronomical subjects including peer-reviewed papers, posters at professional conferences and amateur astronomy publications. He has served as Board Member of the Houston Astronomical Society, is presently an Associate member of the American Astronomical Society, and a regular contributor of observations to the American Association of Variable Star Observers. He taught astronomy at the University of St. Thomas every semester or summer session (one summer session per summer) from 2005 to 2015.