Wilkins 300-inch Map Names

Wilkins 300-inch Map Names

Description

In the 1940's and 50's, English selenographer and Director of the BAA Lunar Section H. P. Wilkins developed a 300-inch diameter map of the Moon on which he recorded both the IAU nomenclature of Blagg and Müller (1935) and a number of new names. Evidently Wilkins felt that he (and the BAA) were a sort of conduit through which suggestions would be made to the IAU, and many amateurs of the era seem to have regarded the appearance of a new name on the "BAA List" as confering official status upon it. In reality, Wilkins' list, which was published as an Appendix to the various editions of his book The Moon, never had any official status at all, and few of the new names he used were ever adopted.
 
  Danny Caes has prepared an alphabetically-sorted list of the names that appear in Wilkins and Moore's The Moon, with additional notes (and Wikipedia links) on many of them.
 
 

Additional Information

Here is an electronically transcribed copy of the final list of new names that appears in Part 2 of Appendix II on pp. 352-354 of the 1961 edition of Wilkins and Moore where Wilkin's map is reproduced at a reduced (and barely legible) scale in 25 sections. The numbers in the first column are part of the original table, and Section identifies which of the 25 sections of Wilkin's map the feature is plotted on. The columns labeled Xi-coord and Eta-coord give the positions of the the features in the Xi-Eta system (expressed in thousands of the lunar radius). Some of the features are beyond the mean limb, and the system Wilkins and Moore used for deriving Xi-Eta positions for these is not explained. Author is evidently the person who first proposed the name adopted by Wilkins. The final column (Biographical ID) is the identity of the person for whom the feature was named, copied verbatim from the explanation provided as part of the entry for each feature in the body of the book. It was not part of the original table. As noted by Whitaker, several non-IAU names that appear on the map and/or are described in the text do not appear in Appendix II. These are listed after #99.

• Appendix II: New Names in the 300 in. Lunar Map

No.	Section	Name on Map	Previous Name	Xi-coord	Eta-coord	Author	Biographical ID
1	I	Lyot	Ptolemaeus A	-14	-148	Wilkins	Great French Astronomer, 1897-1952
2	II	Barcroft	Dollond B	236	-136	Wilkins	contemporary American selenographer
3	III	Giner	Posidonius P	385	553	Paluzíe	Contemporary Spanish astronomer
4	III	Fisher	Vitruvius B	528	280	Wilkins	American astronomer, 1878-1949
5	IV	Gant	Archimedes A	-98	470	Wilkins	contemporary American selenographer
6	V	de Bergerac	Carlini D	-231	544	Wilkins	French writer, 1620-55
7	V	Mount Dyson	Pytheas Beta	-382	335	Wilkins	Astronomer Royal, 1868-1939
8	V	Porthouse	Carlini B	-307	505	Wilkins	English amateur astronomer
9	V	Mount Whipple	La Hire Alpha	-403	474	Wilkins	American photographer
10	V	Virgil	Bessarion E	-584	265	Wilkins	Great Roman poet, 70-19 B.C.
11	V	Krosigk	Tobias Mayer G	-435	298	MacDonald	German astronomer
12	VI	Eddington	Reinhold B	-367	75	Wilkins-Cameron	Great English scientist, 1882-1944
14	VII	Hauet	Wurzelbauer D	-243	-592	Paluzíe	French selenographer, 1878-1933
15	VII	Lenham	Kies A	-340	-474	Wilkins-Moore	contemporary English selenographer
16	VII	Novellas	Agatharchides P	-449	-345	Paluzíe	Spanish astronomer and chemist, 1874-1940
17	VII	Renart	Unnamed	-212	-602	Paluzíe	Spanish astronomer, 1878-1946
18	VIII	Garcia-Gomez	Alpetragius B	-115	-261	Paluzíe	Contemporary Spanish astronomer
19	VIII	Dublier	Alphonsus D	-14	-260	Paluzíe	Contemporary Spanish astronomer
20	IX	Romaña	Fracastorius D	478	-372	Paluzíe	contemporary Spanish astronomer
21	IX	Benitez	Pontanus C	231	-499	Paluzíe	Spanish astronomer, 1879-1954
22	IX	Millás	Parrot C	22	-318	Paluzíe	Spanish philospher, 1897-
23	IX	Sisebuto	Azophi A	-410	190	Paluzíe	Spanish king, reigned A.D. 612-621
24	X	Antoniadi	Hekataeus B	915	-331	Wilkins	Greek astronomer, 1870-1944
25	X	Santacruz	Abel (Franz)	816	-570	Paluzíe	Spanish astronomer, circa 1560
26	X	Steavenson	Reichenbach A	664	-474	Wilkins	celebrated contemporary English amateur astronomer
27	X	Whitaker	Unnamed	910	-480	Wilkins-Moore	contemporary English astronomer
28	X	Orús	Petavius B	790	-340	Paluzíe	Spanish astronomer
29	X	Raurich	Hekatarus D	945	-320	Paluzíe	Spanish astronomer, 1868-1949
30	X	Smith	Vendelinus C	873	-252	Wilkins	English amateur astronomer, 1874-1949
31	XI	Fébrer	Schubert B	987	22	Paluzíe	contemporary Spanish astronomer
32	XI	Watts	Kästner B	988	-114	Wilkins-Hoag	contemporary American selenographer
33	XI	Vernet	Goclenius G	644	-103	Paluzíe	Contemporary Spanish astronomer
34	XI	Aller	Langrenus K	841	-102	Paluzíe	contemporary Spanish astronomer
35	XII	Liddiard	Unnamed	810	584	Wilkins	English electrical engineer, 1894-
36	XII	Recorde	Alhazen E	925	308	Wilkins-Mee	Welsh scientist, 1510-58
37	XII	Cooke	Eimmart C	810	382	Wilkins	English amateur astronomer, 1886-
38	XII	Lower	Hansen B	953	247	Wilkins-Mee	English selenographer, circa 1610
39	XII	O'Neill	Unnamed	730	260	Wilkins
40	XIII	Paluzíe	Unnamed	770	638	Wilkins	contemporary Spanish selenographer
41	XIII	Russell	Within Paluzíe	758	645	Wilkins	nineteenth-century English painter and amateur astronomer
42	XIII	Polit	Hallowes H	692	720	Paluzíe	Spanish physicist, 1880-
43	XIII	Hallowes	Unnamed	690	720	Wilkins	English selenographer
44	XIV	Abineri	Strabo A	430	891	Wilkins-Moore	contemporary English selenographer
45	XIV	Ball, L. F.	Endymion B	466	859	Wilkins	contemporary English selenographer
46	XIV	O'Kell	Atlas E	445	750	MacDonald	English amateur astronomer, 1861-1947
47	XIV	Trewman	Unnamed	320	920	Wilkins	Contemporary English electronic specialist
48	XIV	Williams	Unnamed	445	470	Wilkins
49	XV	Nansen	Unnamed	87	980	Moore	Norwegian explorer, 1961-1930
50	XV	Shackleton	Gioja A	14	996	Moore	English Polar explorer, 1874-1922
51	XV	Peary	Unnamed	30	999	Moore	American explorer, 1856-1920
52	XV	Väisälä	Unnamed	-40	960	Paluzíe	contemporary Finnish astronomer
53	XV	Bartlett	Mädler's Square	-115	878	Moore	contemporary American selenographer
54	XV	Haas	Pico E	-131	681	Wilkins	contemporary American selenographer
55	XV	Reese	Pico B	-182	724	Wilkins	contemporary American selenographer
56	XV	Sacco	Scoresby A	75	985	Paluzíe	Contemporary Spanish astronomer
57	XV	The Washbowl	Cassini A (part)	63	649	Wilkins
58	XV	Rhodes	Unnamed	-101	990	Paluzíe
59	XVI	Arthur	Anaximander G	-324	941	Moore	contemporary English amateur astronomer
60	XVI	Aymat	Sharp B	-485	731	Paluzíe	Spanish astronomer
61	XVII	Najerá	Unnamed	-660	760	Paluzíe	Spanish scientist, circa 1650
62	XVIII	Caramuel	Unnamed	-905	420	Paluzíe	Spanish scientist (Archbishop of Otranto), 1606-82
63	XVIII	Armenter	Unnamed	-897	425	Paluzíe	Spanish solar physicist, 1886-
64	XVIII	Barange	Marius A	-702	218	Paluzíe	Spanish astronomer
65	XVIII	MacDonald	Aristarchus F	-674	369	Wilkins	English amateur astronomer
66	XIX	Harris	Riccioli E	-973	-125	Wilkins	English engineer, 1906-
67	XIX	Buss	Unnamed	-992	-19	Wilkins	English spectroscopist
68	XIX	Lowe	Riccioli A	-987	-102	Wilkins	American astronomer
69	XIX	Green	Unnamed	-102	-1	Wilkins	English selenographer (died in action), 1920-42
70	XIX	Bolton	Unnamed	-103	-0.88	Wilkins	English selenographer
71	XIX	Baum	Sven Hedin E	-980	90	Wilkins	contemporary English selenographer
72	XIX	Burrell	Melloni (Schmidt)	-805	-130	Wilkins	contemporary English selenographer
73	XIX	Saheki	Grimaldi B	-933	-51	Moore	Contemporary Japanese astronomer
74	XIX	Ingalls	Riccioli C	-956	9	Wilkins	contemporary American astronomer
75	XX	Juán	Unnamed	-440	-300	Paluzíe	Spanish geographer, 1713-73
76	XX	Comas Solá	Unnamed	-760	-550	Wilkins	Spanish astronomer, 1868-1937
77	XX	Fresá	Lagrange B	-750	-522	Paluzíe	Italian astronomer
78	XX	Landerer	Mersenius B	-731	-360	Paluzíe	Spanish astronomer, 1841-1922
79	XX	Jiyah	Mersenius D	-673	-392	Paluzíe	Spanish astronomer, 1070-1105
80	XX	Bertaud	Sirsalis A	-858	-222	Wilkins	contemporary French astronomer
81	XX	La Paz	Byrgius A	-816	-416	Wilkins	contemporary American astronomer
82	XX	Clarkson	Gassendi A	-616	-268	Wilkins	English selenographer, 1889-1954
83	XXII	Hare	Bailly B	-323	-932	Wilkins	contemporary American astronomer
84	XXII	Emley	Capuanus E	-361	-609	Wilkins	contemporary English selenographer
85	XXIII	Amundsen	Unnamed	90	-989	Arthur	Norwegian Polar explorer, 1872-1928
86	XXIII	Scott	Unnamed	80	-990	Arthur	English Polar explorer
87	XXIII	Barker	Sasserides A	-149	-636	Wilkins	contemporary English selenographer
88	XXIII	Porter	Clavius B	-98	-830	Wilkins-Adams	American artist and explorer, associated with the Mt. Palomar 100-inch telescope
89	XXIII	Wright	Licetus F	12	-719	Wilkins-Nicholson	American astronomer, died 1952
90	XXIII	Reypastor	Faraday G	122	-718	Paluzíe	Spanish astonomer
91	XXIV	Hill	Lockyer H	377	-707	Wilkins	contemporary English selenographer
92	XXV	Ibañéz	Marinus K	-731	-679	Paluzíe	Spanish mathematician, 1825-91
93	Libratory	Cortés	Demonax A	170	-983	Paluzíe	Spanish explorer
94	Stereo.	Esquivel	Unnamed	220	953	Paluzíe	Spanish geographer, circa 1550
95	Stereo.	Pratdesaba	Brisbane G	631	-772	Paluzíe	Spanish scientist, 1870-
96	Stereo.	Thornton	Unnamed	-328	937	Wilkins-Moore	contemporary English selenographer
97	Stereo.	Mare Incognito	Unnamed	870	530	Wilkins
98	Stereo.	Rodés	Unnamed	-906	400	Paluzíe	Spanish astronomer, 1881-1939
99	I	Alter	Albategnius G	33	-164	Wilkins	Contemporary American astronomer
	XXIII	Einstein	Simpelius D	47	-949	listed in Whitaker	Albert Einstein, great scientist, 1879-1955
	XII	Graham	Peirce A	751	331	listed in Whitaker	nineteenth-century English astronomer
	VII	Moore	Agatharchides A	-437	-395	listed in Whitaker	English selenographer, and one of the Authors, 1923-
	V	Wagner		-428	212	listed in Whitaker	Hanoverian physiologist, 1805-64
	III	Ataturk	Römer A			noticed by D. Caes	founder of modern Turkey
	XVIII	The Cobra-Head				Steavenson

• Notes (like the final column, these are details from other parts of the text that may aid in identification of the honoree; these notes were not part of the original text):
  • #2: 'D. P. Barcroft' is cited repeatedly in the index
  • #15: 'A. P. Lenham' is cited repeatedly in the index
  • #21: the text says "it used to be known as Pontanus A"
  • #22: this is actually described in Section VIII
  • #23: this is actually described in Section VIII
  • #26: 'W. H. Steavenson' is cited repeatedly in the index
  • #27: 'E. A. Whitaker' is cited repeatedly in the index
  • #30: 'C. F. O. Smith' is cited repeatedly in the index
  • #34: Identified as Ramón María Aller Ulloa by Danny Caes
  • #37: 'S. R. B. Cooke' is cited repeatedly in the index
  • #38: biographical note from p. 361: "SIR WILLIAM LOWER. Lower, certainly the first British lunar observer, lived in the little Welsh village of Traventy. In 1611 he received one of Galileo's `perspective cylinders', and studied the Moon with it. Unfortunately he seems to have left no drawings, and almost nothing is known about his life."
  • #39: not listed in index of formations or mentioned in the text; presumably refers to John J. O'Neill
  • #40: Antonio Paluzíe Borrell is the principal author of the list of historic lunar maps that precedes the list of new names in Appendix II
  • #44: 'K. W. Abineri' is cited repeatedly in the index
  • #46: the text says "On the map the name 'Williams' is given where O'Kell should be placed"
  • #48: the text says "See note under O'Kell", also this is listed on p. 219 as being at Xi=+449 Eta=+665 -- the name 'O'Kell' appears at that location; no biographical information for Williams is provided, but an 'A. S. Williams' is listed three time in the index
  • #50: the text says "North of it is another ring, A, within which lies the North Pole". It is unclear if this is meant as a reference to a satellite of the newly-named crater Shackleton.
  • #53: 'J. Bartlett' is cited twice in the index
  • #54: 'W. H. Haas' is cited repeatedly in the index
  • #55: 'E. J. Reese' is cited twice in the index
  • #58: labeled in Detail 15 of "Charts of the Libratory Regions" (p. 49); no biographical information given in text
  • #59: 'D.W.G. Arthur' is cited repeatedly in the index; the text says "formerly known as Anaximander C"
  • #69: biographical note from pp. 369-70: "DR. SAMUEL MORRIS GREEN (1920-42). In 1937, Dr. S. M. Green joined the British Astronomical Association, and showed at once that he was an observer of the highest promise. His drawings placed him at once among the leading modern selenographers, and his planetary work was of equal value. Unfortunately, the War intervened; Green joined the R.A.M.C., was commissioned as a lieutenant, and killed on his first day of active warfare. His death, so early in his career, was tragic indeed."
  • #70: 'Scriven Bolton' is cited twice in the index
  • #71: 'R. M. Baum' is cited repeatedly in the index; the text says "used to be known as Sven Hedin F"
  • #72: 'B. Burrell' is cited three times in the index
  • #74: 'A. Ingalls' is cited once in the index
  • #78: biographical note from p. 366: "JOSEPH JOACHIM LANDERER (1841-1922), a leading Spanish selenographer, was born in Valencia, and lived there for most of his life. He published many drawings and papers in French and Spanish periodicals, and in 1910 issued a book, La Evolución del Globo Lunar ('The Evolution of the Lunar Globe')."
  • #80: 'C. Bertaud' is cited once in the index
  • #82: biographical note from p. 369: "ROLAND L. T. CLARKSON (1889-1954) was a native of Suffolk, and lived for most of his life in Ipswich. He was a skilful and active observer not only of the Moon but also of the planets". See also: Roland Clarkson, Trimley's Moon Man.
  • #83: 'E. E. Hare' is cited twice in the index
  • #84: 'E. F. Emley' is cited repeatedly in the index
  • #87: 'Robert Barker' is cited repeatedly in the index
  • #88: 'R. W. Porter' is cited once in the index
  • #91: 'H. Hill' is cited three times in the index
  • #93: this is actually described in Section XXIV
  • #94: this is actually described in Section XV
  • #95: this is actually described in Section XXV
  • #96: 'F. H. Thornton' is cited repeatedly in the index; the feature is actually described in Section XVI
  • #99: 'D. A. Alter' is cited twice in the index
  • Einstein is listed in the index of formations and mentioned in the text, but it is still labeled as 'Simpelius D' on the map; note that, as with most of Wilkin's new names, this is not the same as the current crater called Einstein.
  • Graham: the text says "in the I.A.U. list, Graham was referred to as Peirce B"; Graham is listed in the index of formations and labeled on the map, but does not appear in Appendix II
  • Moore is listed in the index of formations, described in the text and labeled on the map, but it does not appear in Appendix II
  • Wagner is listed in the index of formations, described in the text and labeled on the map, but it does not appear in Appendix II
  • Ataturk: a footnote to the text describing Römer A on p.86 says "Now called ATATURK after the founder of modern Turkey." The name does not appear in the index or on the map.
  • The Cobra-Head: appears in the index of formations at the rear of the text, but is not labeled on the map.

• media:Wilkins_300-inch_map_names.xls
  

• According to Whitaker, of the 96 new names proposed on Wilkins' map (for unknown reasons Whitaker's count differs slightly from the above tally), only 16 were eventually adopted by the IAU and most of those in locations other than those used by Wilkins and Moore. Two of Wilkins & Moore's suggestions that were adopted in their originally-intended positions are Amundsen and Scott (IAU Transactions XIIB), although as the above list indicates, these names were apparently first proposed by Dai Arthur. - JimMosher

• According to the introduction to Blagg and Müller (page IV, paragraph 2), the original IAU nomenclature of 1935 included the names from a map made by Wilkins in 1924, but rejected those from a 500-inch he was working on at the time. - JimMosher

Clickable Index to Map Sections

The clickable images below have for modern reference had the cardinal points adjusted to suit the present convention as laid down by the International Astronmical Union (IAU) in 1961. The 25 maps are at a reduced scale version, and were originally scanned in from the ALPO Monograph 3 PDF file; freely available online at the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO) site.- JohnMoore2
 

LPOD Articles

Bibliography

• Wilkins, H. P., and Patrick Moore. 1961. The moon; a complete description of the surface of the moon, containing the 300-inch Wilkins lunar map. London: Faber and Faber. 388 pp.
• Wilkins 1951 map

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