selenography
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of selenography
Explanation
The study of the moon's geography is called selenography. Scientists who specialize in selenography are interested in mapping the surface of the moon, including its craters and mountains. The word selenography dates to the 1640s, a time when we knew much less about our planet's only natural satellite. The word comes from the Greek selēnē, which means "moon" and is also the name of the ancient Greek moon goddess. Selenography originally focused on making maps of the moon using telescopes. Thanks to orbiting spacecraft, we now have crystal clear images of its near and far sides, and only details of areas near the moon's poles remain unmapped by selenographers.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When Italian scientist Galileo Galilei peered at the moon through his homemade telescope, he sketched its surprisingly craggy surface, published his drawings in 1610 and launched a new field of astronomy called selenography.
From Scientific American • Jun. 25, 2019
An expert in selenography, the science of mapping the moon, he published top books on the subject, including "Atlas of the Moon."
From US News • Jul. 13, 2016
As his Wikipedia entry says, it was "considered by some as the culmination of the art of selenography prior to the space age".
From The Guardian • Jun. 11, 2013
These, and a few other similar instances, are all that selenography has to offer by way of evidence of actual lunar change.
From Are the Planets Inhabited? by Maunder, E. Walter (Edward Walter)
But though the ancients understood the character, temperament, and, in a word, moral qualities of the moon from a mythological point of view, the most learned amongst them remained very ignorant of selenography.
From The Moon-Voyage by Verne, Jules
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
