Celestia Forums

Hello,

Does anyone have sources for cylindrical astrogeologic/astrostratigraphic maps of earth, planets and moons?

Thanks,

Ton Lindemann

what do you mean by "astrogeologic" or "astrostratigraphic"?

Hello,

For better understanding, "geo" is refering to earth. Astrogeologic and astrostratigraphic refers to "geologic" maps of other celestial bodies. Thus: have anyone a source with cylindrical geologic maps of planets and moons?

Thanks,

Ton Lindemann

Oh.

Strictly speaking they don't exist, because we have no idea what the 3D geology and distribution of the surface material of any planet other than the Earth is.

However, there are maps that show "morphostratigraphic units" for Venus and Mars published by the USGS, derived from satellite images. Problem is, these units are basically meaningless - they're a horrible mish-mash of actual rock type and tectonic structure (the equivalent on Earth would be to label the San Andreas Fault region as "Faulted Terrain", instead of whatever the rock type there actually is with faults drawn through it). This causes no end of argument in the planetary science community between people who think this method is completely meaningless (of which I am one), and people who think it's OK. So keep that in mind when you look at these maps.

For the life of me, I can't find a decent map online. There are some at the USGS website, but their interface is wacky and I can't get it to work...

Take a look at my website. You may avoid duplicating things.

maxim