A favourable reception of the first edition of this book - due no doubt to the nature of its subject - which went out of print in 2 years, gave its author a welcome oppor tunity to update at present its contents. This was all the more necessary, as seldom in the annals of science has our knowledge of the physics and astronomy of the Moon made greater progress than during this time. The real heroes of this advance have, of course, been the spacecraft - 33 of which have now been sent out since 1959 to reconnoiter our satellite at a close range. The hard-landers among them just about delivered their message by the time when the first edition of this book went to the press; but it was the soft-landers and orbiters, which followed in their wake between 1966-67, that became really the principal contributors to lunar research. By now that it may be both timely and their programmes have likewise been completed; so opportune to take stock of the present state of our subject now - on the eve of the next stage of lunar exploration by manned landings on the surface of our satellit- which can be expected to take place in the very near future. \* The aim of the second edition of this book will be to provide the requisite infor mation, brought up to date in an organized manner. Front Matter....Pages I-XVI Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Basic Facts: Distance, Size, and Mass....Pages 3-8 The Motion of the Moon in Space....Pages 9-15 Rotation of the Moon; Optical Librations....Pages 16-23 Motion of the Moon about Its Center of Gravity; Physical Librations....Pages 24-43 Photometric Consequences of the Moon’s Motion: Phases and Eclipses....Pages 44-54 Dynamics of the Earth-Moon System....Pages 55-68 Back Matter....Pages 69-71 Front Matter....Pages 73-73 Introduction....Pages 75-76 Hydrostatic Equilibrium and Its Limitations....Pages 77-90 Thermal History of the Moon....Pages 91-109 Stress History of the Moon....Pages 110-132 Possible Convection in the Lunar Interior....Pages 133-150 Chemical Composition of the Moon....Pages 151-160 Exosphere of the Moon....Pages 161-170 Back Matter....Pages 171-173 Front Matter....Pages 175-175 Introduction....Pages 177-177 Global form of the Moon and its Gravitational Field....Pages 178-204 Relative Coordinates on the Moon and Their Determination....Pages 205-224 Mapping of the Moon....Pages 225-257 Morphology of the Lunar Surface....Pages 258-291 Origin of the Lunar Formations....Pages 292-331 Lunar Surface as an Impact Counter, and its Stratigraphy....Pages 332-347 Back Matter....Pages 348-351 Front Matter....Pages 353-353 Introduction....Pages 355-356 Photometry of Scattered Moonlight....Pages 357-370 Thermal Emission of the Lunar Surface....Pages 371-399 Electromagnetic Properties of the Lunar Surface....Pages 400-422 Luminescence of the Lunar Surface....Pages 423-437 Structure of the Lunar Surface....Pages 438-460 Large-Scale Features of the Lunar Surface....Pages 461-483 Back Matter....Pages 484-490 Back Matter....Pages 491-525
