[uf-discuss] Proposal: Lunar/ Mars co-ordinates (like "geo")

[Andy Mabbett]

I propose a "luna" and "mars" microformats, for marking up co-ordinates
on our Moon, and the planet Mars, respectively [1]. These would be based
on the "geo" microformat (and thus relatively easy to implement, since
code for "geo" can be re-used).


Lunar co-ordinates are used by <http://moon.gogole.com> (e.g., from the
source code, "<point lat="-3.01239" lng="-23.42157"/>"); Wikipedia (e.g.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11>); and at
<http://www.spds.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunar_sites.html>,
<http://www.xs4all.nl/~carlkop/stenneck.html> and
<http://www.lunarrepublic.com/history/apollo_sites.shtml>

Note, though, that the latter two indicate that more than one system of
recording the co-ordinates, for any given point, is in use, and it may
be necessary to include an attribute to indicate which system is to be
used, though the most recent standards appears to be the IAU Mean Earth
Polar Axis co-ordinate system, as used by the above-cited NASA page, and
Wikipedia, and described in Davies and Colvin, J. Geophys. Res., v. 105,
pp. 20,227 - 20,280, 2000.


Mars co-ordinates are used by <http://www.google.com/mars/>; Wikipedia
(e.g. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_rover>; and, of course,
NASA <http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/vrmlGen/html/VRML_notes.html>


See also:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude#Longitude_on_bodies_other_than_Earth>

"Report Of The IAU/IAG Working Group On Cartographic Coordinates And
Rotational Elements Of The Planets And Satellites: 2000":
<http://www.gfy.ku.dk/~iag/Travaux_01/Out%20of%20Section/IAU-IAG.htm>


"Mars Global Surveyor Science Sampler Data Set Collection, Coordinate
Systems":
<http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/sci/CDsampler/document/volinfo.htm#5.%20Coordinate%20Systems%20and%20SPICE>


[1] This could be rolled out for other planets, too.
-- 
Andy Mabbett
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