Layout of the 30 lunar quadrangles at the 1:2,500,000 map scale
Layout of the 144 Lunar quadrangles at the 1:1,000,000 map scale

The Moon has been divided into 30 quadrangles by the United States Geological Survey at the 1:2,500,000 map scale.[1] At the 1:1,000,000 scale it's divided into 144 quadrangles.[2]

The quadrangles are numbered in bands from north to south. Each band is then divided into a latitude-dependent number of quadrangles. At the poles, the bands consist of a single quadrangle, so LQ01 is a circle around the north pole.

Quadrangles at the 1:2,500,000 scale
Name Number Latitude Longitude
LQ01 65° to 90° −180° to 180°
LQ02 30° to 65° −180° to −120°
LQ03 −120° to −60°
LQ04 −60° to 0°
LQ05 0° to 60°
LQ06 60° to 120°
LQ07 120° to 180°
LQ08 0° to 30° −180° to −135°
LQ09 −135° to −90°
Marius[3] LQ10 −90° to −45°
Copernicus[3] LQ11 −45° to 0°
LQ12 0° to 45°
LQ13 45° to 90°
LQ14 90° to 135°
LQ15 135° to 180°
LQ16 −30° to 0° −180° to −135°
LQ17 −135° to −90°
Grimaldi[4] LQ18 −90° to −45°
Mare Nubium[5] LQ19 −45° to 0°
LQ20 0° to 45°
LQ21 45° to 90°
LQ22 90° to 135°
LQ23 135° to 180°
LQ24 −65° to −30° −180° to −120°
LQ25 −120° to −60°
LQ26 −60° to 0°
LQ27 0° to 60°
LQ28 60° to 120°
Planck[6] LQ29 120° to 180°
Lunar South Pole[7] LQ30 −90° to −65° −180° to 180°
Farside Nearside Farside
LQ01
LQ02 LQ03 LQ04 LQ05 LQ06 LQ07
LQ08 LQ09 LQ10 LQ11 LQ12 LQ13 LQ14 LQ15
LQ16 LQ17 LQ18 LQ19 LQ20 LQ21 LQ22 LQ23
LQ24 LQ25 LQ26 LQ27 LQ28 LQ29
LQ30

At the 1:1,000,000 scale, there are 12 latitude bands, 6 in each hemisphere. The bands nearest the equator are 16° high, and the first and last bands are 10° radius circles around the poles. The bands are then divided into quadrangles, but unlike the 1:2,500,000 system, the seam is placed at +10° longitude (so 0° longitude is in the middle of a quadrangle), and the numbering within a band starts between −80° and −90°:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Lunar Geologic Mapping". NASA/USGS Planetary Geologic Mapping Program. 2007-09-19. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
  2. ^ USGS Astrogeology: Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature - USGS Digital Atlas of the Moon
  3. ^ a b "Lunar Geologic Mapping: Mapping Scheme and Layout". NASA/USGS Planetary Geologic Mapping Program. 2006-04-21. Retrieved 2009-11-08.
  4. ^ Liu, Jianzhong; et al. (2020). "NEW GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE LQ-18 (GRIMALDI) QUADRANGLE ON THE MOON". 51st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
  5. ^ Liu, Jianzhong; et al. (2017). "NEW GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE LQ-19 (MARE NUBIUM) QUADRANGLE ON THE MOON". Lunar and Planetary Science XLVIII.
  6. ^ Yingst, R.A; et al. (2017). "GEOLOGIC MAPPING OF THE PLANCK QUADRANGLE OF THE MOON (LQ-29)". Lunar and Planetary Science XLVIII.
  7. ^ Mest, S.C.; et al. (2015). "UPDATE ON THE GEOLOGIC MAPPING OF THE LUNAR SOUTH POLE QUADRANGLE (LQ-30): EVALUATING MARE, CRYPTOMARE AND IMPACT MELT DEPOSITS". 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
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