List of maria on the Moon

This is a list of maria (large, dark, basaltic plains) on the Moon. It also includes the one oceanus and the features known by the names lacus, palus and sinus. The modern system of lunar nomenclature was introduced in 1651 by Giovanni Battista Riccioli.^[1] Riccioli's map of the moon was drawn by Francesco Maria Grimaldi, who has a crater named after him.

Maria and Oceanus

There was also a region on the Lunar farside that was briefly misidentified as a mare and named Mare Desiderii (Sea of Desire). It is no longer recognized. Other former maria include:

• Mare Parvum^[3] ("Small Sea"), immediately to the east of Inghirami
• Mare Incognitum ("Unknown Sea")
• Mare Novum^[3] ("New Sea"), northeast of Plutarch
• Mare Struve ("Struve's Sea"), near Messala

Lacus

A related set of features are the Lunar lacus (singular lacus, Latin for "lake"), which are smaller basaltic plains of similar origin:

Sinus and Paludes

A related set of features are the sinus (singular sinus, Latin for "bay") and paludes (singular palus, Latin for "marsh"):

Some sources also list a Palus Nebularum ("Marsh of Mists") at 38.0° N, 1.0° E. However the designation for this feature has not been officially recognized by the IAU.

See also

• List of craters on the Moon
• List of features on the Moon
• List of mountains on the Moon
• List of valleys on the Moon
• Selenography

References

1. ↑ Moore, Patrick (1983). The Guinness book of astronomy facts and feats. Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 25. ISBN 0-85112-258-2. 
2. ↑ "Moon Mare/Maria". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology. Retrieved 2010-08-20. 
3. 1 2 "Astronomica Langrenus" (in Italian). Retrieved 2006-12-05. 

• L. E. Andersson and Ewen A. Whitaker, NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature, NASA RP-1097, 1982, no ISBN.
• Ben Bussey and Paul Spudis, The Clementine Atlas of the Moon, Cambridge University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-521-81528-2.
• Antonín Rükl, Atlas of the Moon, Kalmbach Books, 1990, ISBN 0-913135-17-8.
• Ewen A. Whitaker, Mapping and Naming the Moon, Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-521-62248-4.

External links

• NASA lunar Atlas
• Digital Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon
• USGS: Moon nomenclature
• USGS: Moon Nomenclature: Mare
• USGS: Moon Nomenclature: Oceanus
• USGS: Moon Nomenclature: Lacus
• USGS: Moon Nomenclature: Palus
• USGS: Moon Nomenclature: Sinus

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