21
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
F. Sánchez, The Rise of Astrophysics in Modern Spain, Astronomers’ Universe,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66426-8_3
3
Tenerife and Mount Teide on the Moon
(1724–1914)
In the Mare Imbrium (‘Sea of Showers’) on the Moon there is a mountain
called Pico (the Teide was known as Pico Teneriffe in former times). A little to
the north-west of Pico, also in the Sea of Showers, there is a small mountain
range called the Teneriffe Mountains. There is an interesting story behind
these names.
Lunar surface features have been given names, but the story of how this
nomenclature came into being is not widely known. The first to name lunar
features was the Flemish astronomer van Langren (Langrenus), who published
his lunar map in 1642 under the patronage of Felipe IV of Spain. He named
one of the most prominent craters after his patron, Philippi IV (it was later
renamed Copernicus). Langrenus also denominated several lunar features
after other Spanish monarchs and nobility.
New nomenclatures continued to be introduced at the whim of their creators until, in 1651, the Italian astronomer Riccioli attempted to introduce
order into lunar nomenclature by assigning the names of scientists to lunar
features. However, neither was he entirely impartial: he gave his own name
and that of his disciple Grimaldi to two conspicuous craters on the Moon’s
western limb. As he was a great admirer of Tycho Brahe, he named the most
prominent crater on the Moon after his idol, while consigning the heliocentrists Kepler, Copernicus, and Galileo to the Ocean of Storms (Oceanus
Procellarum). In spite of the foibles of its creator, it is on the basis of Riccioli’s
system that the modern nomenclature of our satellite has been built, so that
only names relating to science are now to be found on the Moon. Today, the
International Astronomical Union is the arbiter in all matters relating to
astronomical nomenclature.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
F. Sánchez, The Rise of Astrophysics in Modern Spain, Astronomers’ Universe,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66426-8_3
3
Tenerife and Mount Teide on the Moon
(1724–1914)
In the Mare Imbrium (‘Sea of Showers’) on the Moon there is a mountain
called Pico (the Teide was known as Pico Teneriffe in former times). A little to
the north-west of Pico, also in the Sea of Showers, there is a small mountain
range called the Teneriffe Mountains. There is an interesting story behind
these names.
Lunar surface features have been given names, but the story of how this
nomenclature came into being is not widely known. The first to name lunar
features was the Flemish astronomer van Langren (Langrenus), who published
his lunar map in 1642 under the patronage of Felipe IV of Spain. He named
one of the most prominent craters after his patron, Philippi IV (it was later
renamed Copernicus). Langrenus also denominated several lunar features
after other Spanish monarchs and nobility.
New nomenclatures continued to be introduced at the whim of their creators until, in 1651, the Italian astronomer Riccioli attempted to introduce
order into lunar nomenclature by assigning the names of scientists to lunar
features. However, neither was he entirely impartial: he gave his own name
and that of his disciple Grimaldi to two conspicuous craters on the Moon’s
western limb. As he was a great admirer of Tycho Brahe, he named the most
prominent crater on the Moon after his idol, while consigning the heliocentrists Kepler, Copernicus, and Galileo to the Ocean of Storms (Oceanus
Procellarum). In spite of the foibles of its creator, it is on the basis of Riccioli’s
system that the modern nomenclature of our satellite has been built, so that
only names relating to science are now to be found on the Moon. Today, the
International Astronomical Union is the arbiter in all matters relating to
astronomical nomenclature.