Customer Reviews

Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Near Side of the Moon

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The good news is this is extremely well done. The (to many) annoying frame boundaries and scan lines have been removed to the greatest extent possible without removing essential information. I particularly like the contrast enhancement and other software tricks that have been applied to present each photo in its best light.

To see what I mean, take a look at "The Process used to clean up scanning artifacts" on the accompanying CD.

The coverage is very thorough, though there are a few irksome "misses" that were unavoidable due to the nature of the orbiter's path.

Any "lunartic" is going to enjoy this reference book. From the visual standpoint it is a superb job and one wonders why it was not done years ago. Likewise, there were other missions whose results would benefit from this treatment, although their coverage was different and less complete. In any case, I find this an extremely interesting and valuable resource.

The bad news is that the index is bad. To find a named feature, it's not always possible to use the index (many important and common ones are missing: e.g., Aristarchus, Eratosthenes ...).

To wander through the photos in a predetermined path (without reference to a specific feature) is also a chore at times as the organization is according to the original photo numbers and not to an overlaid organizational scheme such as a high-level map. It is easy to get lost and it is sometimes hard to find your way out again. Since the processing is so well done, this is less disheartening than it would otherwise be ... I find myself staying "lost" on purpose sometimes, discovering vistas I didn't know were there before losing my way. But to a technical writer it's discouraging to see such potential missed for lack of a truly good index.

Producing an IAU Nomenclature-based index would be a great project for someone with the time!

The book comes with a CD which I haven't found to improve on the printed index: the indexes that are on the CD are PDF files that are NOT linked to the actual photos, so to use them you need multiple windows open on-screen simultaneously. It would have been far more convenient to provide the indexes in html form with links to the proper photographs.

On the plus side -- and it is a HUGE plus, in my opinion -- both medium- and high-resolution images of each photo are on the CD and they are gorgeous images, especially given the technology used to produce the original photos.

All in all, this is an extremely valuable reference, and one I am using almost daily. So perhaps I am being a bit nit-pickety here. It's only the indexing bit that prevents this getting my 5-star rating: If I could award it 4.75, I would.

If your looking to explore the moon, this is the book to have. On the back cover of this book, it says a CD is included. Sadly this book doesn't come with a CD ROM. The book was returned to Amazon, then re ordered again with the same results. I want to view the JPEG photos on my monitor!