The Map

With the mouse cursor positioned in the main map view, click and drag to pan the map in any direction. Double-click to zoom in one level and recenter. If so equipped, move the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.

Alternatively, the control in the top-left corner may be used to navigate the map. Click the arrows to pan the map. Click "+" and "-" to zoom, or click a "notch" in between to go directly to a desired zoom level.

Depending on how the map is integrated into the website, clicking and dragging the lower-right corner resizes the entire map.

Dialog Boxes

Dialog boxes all exhibit the same behavior. Click and drag the title bars to move dialogs within the browser window. Click the 'X' in the upper-right corner to shrink the dialog to an icon. Click an icon to restore a dialog.

Map Options

Cursor Latitude/Longitude indicates the position of the mouse cursor on the map.

"Object to view" and "Projection" drop-down boxes allow switching among various planetary bodies (may be unavailable, if not configured), and the projection in which the map displays.

Text boxes labeled "Center Latitude" and "Center Longitude" display the center coordinates of the projection. If either coordinate is not applicable to the selected projection, it is not displayed. For example, polar stereographic projections have fixed centers (the corresponding pole) so neither field is shown. Edit one or both coordinates and press enter or click the "Recenter & Reproject" button to reproject the map centered on the chosen location.

Selecting a "Single-click action" will cause one of the following actions to take place when the map is clicked:

"None" is the default behavior.

"Recenter" reprojects and recenters the map on the clicked location.

"Recenter & Zoom" reprojects and recenters the map and zooms in one level.

"Get Footprint Info" is used with queryable layers. Click within footprint outlines to display a dialog box containing thumbnails of all footprints containing the clicked location. Each thumbnail links to an informational page describing that footprint. Unlike other dialog boxes, the thumbnail dialog can also be resized by clicking and dragging the corner or side "handle". Clicking the 'X' causes this dialog to disappear entirely in preparation for performing another request.

Click "Permalink" to display a URL in the browser's command line which contains all the settings for the map as it's currently displayed. Permalink can be used to save or bookmark the current map so it can be recalled later.

Overview

Displays a compact view of the entire planetary body being viewed, along with a red box indicating the current viewport. Click anywhere on the overview map to recenters the map around that point.

Layers

Contains menus for selecting imagery layers. A single base layer may be selected, while most other layers may be selected simultaneously. The footprint layers (LROC and Apollo) are queryable, as described above.

Scale bar

At the lower-left corner of the map is a scale bar giving an indication of the scale of the map as it's currently displayed. The scale is accurate at the projection center and degrades towards the edges of the projection.

A Word About Browsers

This interface is rigorously tested in various versions of the major browsers. Enjoy an optimum experience with Chrome, Firefox 3.5+, Opera 12+, and Internet Explorer 9+. Minor issues with earlier browsers may exist.