It was published in 1647 under the name of
_Selenographia_. He represented the circular mountains by open spots
somewhat round in shape, and by shaded figures he indicated the vast
plains, or, as he called them, the _seas_, that occupied so much of her
surface. These he designated by names taken from our Earth. His map
shows you a _Mount Sinai_ the midst of an _Arabia_, an _AEtna_ in the
centre of a _Sicily_, _Alps_, _Apennines_, _Carpathians_, a
_Mediterranean_, a _Palus Maeolis_, a _Pontus Euxinus_, and a _Caspian
Sea_. But these names seem to have been given capriciously and at
random, for they never recall any resemblance existing between
themselves and their namesakes on our globe. In the wide open spot, for
instance, connected on the south with vast continents and terminating in
a point, it would be no easy matter to recognize the reversed image of
the _Indian Peninsula_, the _Bay of Bengal_, and _Cochin China_.
Naturally, therefore, these names were nearly all soon dropped; but
another system of nomenclature, proposed by an astronomer better
acquainted with the human heart, met with a success that has lasted to
the present day.
This was Father Riccioli, a Jesuit, and (1598-1671) a contemporary of
Hevelius.
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