Mare Australe (Latin ''austrāle'' the "Southern Sea") is a

lunar mare The lunar maria ( ; mare ) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by lava flowing into ancient impact basins. They are less reflective than the "highlands" as a result of their iron-rich composition, and hence appear dark to ...

located in the southeastern hemisphere of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

. It is 997 kilometers in diameter, overlapping the near and far sides of the Moon. Smooth, dark

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

lines the bottom of the mare. The Australe basin was formed in the Pre-Nectarian

epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided b ...

, while the mare material inside formed in the Upper Imbrian epoch. The basin was almost completely destroyed by impacts prior to the appearance of the mare. Unlike most of the lunar maria, Mare Australe has an uneven surface that is marked by a number of crater impacts. Examples of these include the craters Jenner and Lamb, which are flooded with

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 ...

much like many of the other crater features in this mare. The

selenographic coordinate The selenographic coordinate system is used to refer to locations on the surface of Earth's moon. Any position on the lunar surface can be referenced by specifying two numerical values, which are comparable to the latitude and longitude of Earth ...

s of this mare are 38.9° S, 93.0° E. The eastern half of the mare lies on the far side of the

, although it can be viewed in its entirety during periods of favorable

libration In lunar astronomy, libration is the cyclic variation in the apparent position of the Moon that is perceived by observers on the Earth and caused by changes between the orbital and rotational planes of the moon. It causes an observer to see ...

Gallery

File:Mare Australe AS15-M-2503 ASU.jpg, Oblique view of Mare Australe on the moon, facing south, from

Apollo 15 Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the Apollo program and the fourth Moon landing. It was the first List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types, J mission, with a longer stay on the Moon and a greate ...

. The crater

Abel Abel ( ''Hébel'', in pausa ''Hā́ḇel''; ''Hábel''; , ''Hābēl'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within the Abrahamic religions. Born as the second son of Adam and Eve, the first two humans created by God in Judaism, God, he ...

is at right, Gernsback is at left, with Donner in the left foreground. The craters Lamb, Jenner, and Gum are visible on the horizon (from left to right). File:Mare Australe AS14-73-10170.jpg, A more distant view from

Apollo 14 Apollo 14 (January 31February 9, 1971) was the eighth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, the third to Moon landing, land on the Moon, and the first to land in the Geology of the Moon#Highlands, lunar highlands. It was the las ...

References

Australe Australe Australe {{moon-stub

Gallery

See also

References