Judy Stumpf, Age 12, Of Williamsport., Pa., for her question:     

Who named the craters of the moon?     

Astronomers of the 17th century developed several different systems for naming the lunar landscape. One was suggested by the Italian Riccioli and shown on a moon chart made in 1651. This system was endorsed by Cassini of France and. Became the basis for the present system of naming the features of the lumr landscape.

The names were latinized in order to be recognized by scholars of different nations. Riccioli named the craters of the lunar landscapes for great thinkers Astronomers and philosophers. To the craters on the northern hemisphere, he gave the names of Plato, Archimedes and other thinkers of the ancient world. To the craters of the southern hemisphere, he gave the names of Tycho and other thinkers of his own day.