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Lacus Felicitatis (
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''fēlīcitātis'', "Lake of Happiness") is a small patch of the lunar surface that has been inundated by flows of
lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...
, leaving a level patch with a lower
albedo Albedo ( ; ) is the fraction of sunlight that is Diffuse reflection, diffusely reflected by a body. It is measured on a scale from 0 (corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation) to 1 (corresponding to a body that reflects ...
than the surrounding ground. It is located in Terra Nivium, an area of continental ground to the north of the
Mare Vaporum Mare Vaporum (Latin ''vapōrum'', the "sea of vapors") is a lunar mare located between the southwest rim of Mare Serenitatis and the southeast rim of Mare Imbrium. It was named by Giovanni Battista Riccioli in 1651.''Autostar Suite Astronomer ...
. About 70–80 km to the northeast of this area are the Montes Haemus, along the southwestern edge of the
Mare Serenitatis Mare Serenitatis (Latin ''serēnitātis'', the "Sea of Serenity") is a lunar mare located to the east of Mare Imbrium on the Moon. Its diameter is . Geology Mare Serenitatis is located within the Serenitatis basin, which is of the Nectarian ...
. The selenographic
coordinate In geometry, a coordinate system is a system that uses one or more numbers, or coordinates, to uniquely determine and standardize the position of the points or other geometric elements on a manifold such as Euclidean space. The coordinates are ...
s of the centre of Lacus Felicitatis are 18.5° N, 5.4° E, and it has a maximum extent of 98 km. In outline it has a bent shape, with a wing to the northwest and another to the east. The border is somewhat uneven, and it is surrounded by rugged lunar surface. Three tiny craters within this formation have been assigned names by the
IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
. These are listed below. Ina is a semi-circular depression that is only about 30 m deep and is difficult to image from the Earth. In November 2006, it was suggested that Ina was the result of a gas eruption in the last 10 million years.


See also

*
Volcanism on the Moon Volcanism on the Moon is represented by the presence of volcanoes, pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic deposits and vast lava plains on the lunar surface. The volcanoes are typically in the form of small domes and cones that form large volcanic complexe ...


References


External links

* * Felicitatis, Lacus {{Craters on the Moon: C-F