What are maria on the moon?

What are maria on the moon?

mare, plural maria, any flat, dark plain of lower elevation on the Moon. Maria are the largest topographic features on the Moon and can be seen from Earth with the unaided eye. (Together with the bright lunar highlands, they form the face of the “man in the moon.”)

What is the largest maria on moon?

Oceanus Procellarum
The irregular maria lie in lowlands. The largest of these is Oceanus Procellarum, which lies on the west side of the Moon and is almost 2 km below nominal mean lunar radius. Mare filling is characterized by several distinctive features that indicate a volcanic origin.

When were the seas of the moon named?

1976
It was only named in 1976.

What is the Latin name for the lunar seas?

lunar maria
The lunar maria (/ˈmɑːriə/; singular: mare /ˈmɑːreɪ/) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth’s Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. They were dubbed maria, Latin for ‘seas’, by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas.

What are the GREY bits on the Moon?

Those spots are called maria, from the Latin word for sea, because early astronomers mistakenly thought they were lunar seas (they’re actually volcanic plains). The smooth and dark maria cover 17 percent of the surface of the moon. Almost all of them are visible from Earth.

How does a mare differ from a crater?

The mare patches represent lava-filled craters. Most such craters lie in the bottoms of much larger and much older basins. On the nearside, such basins contain circular mare. Thus, mare volcanism is most likely inside these basins, especially where younger craters have dug into the basin floor.

What is a mare on the Moon quizlet?

Lunar Maria. Large, dark plains formed by volcanic eruptions. “Mare” is Latin for “seas” (early astronomers thought these dark areas on the moon were filled with water) 16% of the moon’s surface is covered in Maria.

When did the lunar mare form?

3.9 billion years ago
The lunar maria (or plains), which were formed between 3.1 and 3.9 billion years ago, are the youngest geologic units on the lunar surface, except for more recent impact craters. The release of heat from large impacts caused extensive melting and extrusion of basaltic lavas on the moon.

What is a mare on the moon quizlet?