The Lunartic

That crater catching your eye has a name. That dark plain has a story. Get to know the Moon with The Lunartic. Turn a familiar sight into a world you can explore. The Lunartic brings together a detailed interactive lunar atlas, observing information, and the freedom to move through time—whether you’re beside a telescope or following your curiosity from the couch. Find your next “I never noticed that.” Zoom into the lunar landscape, identify features directly on the map, or search for a landmark by name. Explore craters, mountains, and lunar seas. Locate the Apollo landing sites and connect the Moon you see tonight with the places where history happened. Make the view through your telescope make sense. Flip and mirror the atlas to match your eyepiece. Show the boundary between lunar day and night, or add a latitude and longitude grid to find your bearings. Spend more of your observing time exploring the landscape. Let the Moon move on your schedule. Choose a date and time, step forward or backward, or play through the Moon’s changing appearance. Follow the shifting daylight and the subtle lunar wobble called libration. Preview an upcoming night, revisit a memorable observation, then return to now. Know more before you step outside. Set your observing location to see a view calculated for your position on Earth. Check the Moon’s phase, illumination, rise and set times, altitude, and more. Bring context to tonight’s view and curiosity to your next observing session. Explore with science behind the scenery. The Lunartic combines surface maps derived from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imagery and elevation data with JPL lunar ephemeris data. There’s substance behind the beauty, with detailed information ready when you want to go deeper. You don’t need to know the names before you begin. Just bring the desire to find out. Your next favorite place might be on the Moon.