[Frank_Discussion]

Actually, I thought Geo means Earth, and Selene means Moon, so isn't the scientific term officially selenology? I thought I had heard this as fact somewhere...

[cogitator]

Actually, I thought Geo means Earth, and Selene means Moon, so isn't the scientific term officially selenology? I thought I had heard this as fact somewhere...

You're probably right, but if you look it up in Websters, the second meaning applies:

"b: a study of the solid matter of a celestial body (as the moon)"

You'll see a lot of references to "lunar geology" abounding.

[aruanan]

...so isn't the scientific term officially selenology....

Yes, sort of.

Main Entry: sel·e·nol·o·gy
Pronunciation: "se-l&-'nä-l&-jE
Function: noun
Date: 1821
: a branch of astronomy that deals with the moon
- se·le·no·log·i·cal /"se-l&-nO-'lä-ji-k&l, s&-"lE-n^&l-'ä-/ adjective
- sel·e·nol·o·gist /"se-l&-'nä-l&-jist/ noun