Virtual Moon Atlas
Contents
Virtual Moon Atlas
(glossary entry)
Description
A popular free program for displaying lunar features on an interactive globe, developed by Christian Legrand and Patrick Chevalley. Also known (in the English-speaking world) as "VMA", and (in French) as "AVL" (Atlas Virtuel de la Lune).
Additional Information
- The most recent release of "VMA Pro 5" includes versions that work in the Linux and Mac operating systems. The simpler versions work only on PC's.
- With the release of Version 4.0/3.5c in May 2008, VMA moved to new website. The old website (of many years standing) may continue to describe some of the earlier releases. The actual program files to be downloaded are stored on the SourceForge website.
- VMA shows a simulated view of Moon for any selected date, time and observing location (on Earth). Can also show views centered on the longitude of any selected feature name. Cannot generate overhead views of feaures off the Moon's equator.
- Clicking on the simulation indentifies the neareast named feature. Includes observing notes (and more) for each.
- Comes in several versions. Most include and can display (in a separate window) selected images of the features (in addition to the global texture files used for creating the maps), provided the search term is encoded in the image file name. The scale and orientation of the supplementary images is not indicated. Users can add to the image database, again provided the feature name is properly encoded in the filename.
- Users with advanced graphics cards have the option to display a variety of overlays on the basic textures; for example, indicating the locations of major geologic formations.
- The feature information display is driven by the included DATALUN database, which users can add to. DATALUN includes geologic information, the history of the feature name, and observing notes.
- Users should note that the current release of DATALUN is not completely consistent with current IAU nomenclature (some IAU names are misspelled, some are omitted, and some are misplaced). However it has a powerful capability to search for combinations of attributes in its database.
- If you are concerned about using correct IAU names and positions, see the list of current VMA Database Errors. A freely available alternative for displaying only IAU-sanctioned names and dimensions is the LTVT software, which is also more flexible in displaying the Moon from unconventional viewpoints.
- VMA works only on Windows-compatible PC's.
LPOD Articles
LeGrand Moon Virtually Perfect
Bibliography
