For Further Exploration

The Moon

Barbuzano, J. “The Moon Mess.” Sky & Telescope (August 2018): 26. On figuring out the details of the giant impact hypothesis for the Moon’s origin.

Beatty, J. “NASA Slams the Moon.” Sky & Telescope (February 2010): 28. The impact of the LCROSS mission on the Moon and what we learned from it.

Bell, T. “Warning: Dust Ahead.” Astronomy (March 2006): 46. What we know about lunar dust and the problems it can cause.

Canup, R. “The Moon’s Violent Origin.” Astronomy (November 2019): 44. On the giant impact hypothesis.

Cokinos, C. “Looking for Ice in the Dark.” Sky & Telescope (January 2021): 34. Missions to search for water ice in shadowed craters on the Moon.

Dorminey, B. “Secrets beneath the Moon’s Surface.” Astronomy (March 2011): 24. A nice timeline of the Moon’s evolution and the story of how we are finding out more about its internal structure.

Eicher, D. “Michael Collins Remembers Apollo 11.” Astronomy (July 2019): 24. Interview with the astronaut, followed by summary of and images from the first Moon-landing mission.

Evans, B. “The Moon’s Farside Unveiled.” Astronomy (October 2020): 24. Luna 3 and modern views of the side of the Moon facing away from us.

Shirao, M. “Kayuga’s High Def Highlights.” Sky & Telescope (February 2010): 20. Results from the Japanese mission to the Moon, with high-definition TV cameras.

Shubinski, R. “Mapping the Moon.” Astronomy (June 2022): 40. The history of mapping our satellite from the first telescopes through today.

Wadhwa, M. “What Are We Learning from the Moon Rocks?” Astronomy (June 2013): 54. Very nice discussion of how the rocks tell us about Moon’s composition, age, and origin.

Wood, J. “The First Lunar Samples: The Science of Apollo.” Sky & Telescope (July 2019): 14. What analysis of the moon rocks revealed.

Zastrow, M. “Chang’e 5 Rewrites Lunar History.” Astronomy (April 2022): 40. On the Chinese mission to Oceanus Procellarum and its sample return.

Zimmerman, R. “How Much Water is on the Moon?” Astronomy (January 2014): 50. Results from the LRO’s instruments and good overview of issue.

Mercury

Evans, B. “Voyage to a World of Extremes.” Astronomy (November 2018): 20. What we know and what the BepiColombo mission will try to learn.

Lakdawalla, E. “Return to the Iron Planet.” Sky & Telescope (November 2018): 22. On what we know about Mercury and on the BepiColombo mission to explore further.

“Mercury: Meet the Planet Nearest the Sun.” Sky & Telescope (March 2014): 39. Four-page pictorial introduction, including the MESSENGER probe’s full map of the planet.

Oberg, J. “Torrid Mercury’s Icy Poles.” Astronomy (December 2013): 30. A nice overview of results from MESSENGER mission, including the ice in polar craters.

Sheehan, W. “The Strange History of Mercury’s Spots.” Astronomy (April 2022): 52. Schiaparelli’s observations of the planet’s surface markings.

Sheehan, W., and Dobbins, T. “Mesmerized by Mercury.” Sky & Telescope (June 2000): 109. History of Mercury observations and how amateur astronomers can contribute.

Talcott, R. “Surprises from MESSENGER’s Historic Mercury Fly-by.” Astronomy (March 2009): 28.

The Moon

Apollo Lunar Surface Journal: https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/main.html. Information, interviews, maps, photos, video and audio clips, and more on each of the Apollo landing missions.

Lunar & Planetary Institute: https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/. Summary of lunar missions and timelines.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission Page: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lro/

NASA Artemis Mission Pages: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/ and https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/artemis/

NASA Data Center Website: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/moonpage.html

Nine Planets Website: https://nineplanets.org/the-moon/

Planetary Society Website: https://www.planetary.org/worlds/the-moon

The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Lunar_Exploration_Program

To the Moon: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tothemoon/. Pages to accompany the PBS program on the Apollo landings and what it took to achieve them.

Science@NASA Website: https://science.nasa.gov/moon/

Sky & Telescope magazine’s observing guides and articles about the Moon: https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/celestial-objects-to-watch/moon/

Mercury

BepiColombo Mission pages (European Space Agency): https://sci.esa.int/web/bepicolombo/home

MESSENGER Mission Website: https://messenger.jhuapl.edu/

NASA Data Center Website: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/mercurypage.html

Nine Planets Website: https://nineplanets.org/mercury/

Planetary Society Website: https://www.planetary.org/worlds/mercury

Science@NASA Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mercury/

The Moon

Evolution of the Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIRPeYGKfic. Produced by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter team, tracing the development of the Moon, from its origin to the Moon we see today (2:53).

Exploring the Presence of Water on the Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVC6PeUr_T8. Narrated by astronomer Jim Green, this video explains the LCROSS mission to detect water and what we might do with it (4:01).

Man on the Moon: Hoax or No Hoax: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_Lyayavib0. Laura Danly and Patrick So of Griffith Observatory explain how we know the Apollo landings really took place (32:08; start at 6:00)

Tour of the Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr5Pj6GQL2o. A narrated tour based on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images and data (4:56).

Water on the Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfOfrlVf4rs. Brief summary of how the LCROSS mission found water on the Moon and where it might come from (1:38).

Where Did the Moon Come From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0FCE4H0Dro. Nicely produced recreation and explanation of the giant impact theory of the Moon’s origin, narrated by space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock (3:06).