Mare Ingenii (Latin ''ingeniī'', the "Sea of Cleverness") is one of the few
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 ...
features on the
far side of the Moon. The mare sits in the Ingenii basin, which is of the
Pre-Nectarian epoch, which lies in turn in the outer part of the older and much larger
South Pole–Aitken basin. The mare material located in Ingenii and the surrounding craters is of the
Upper Imbrian epoch. The dark circular feature which dominates this mare is the crater
Thomson Thomson may refer to:
Names
* Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin
* Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson
Businesses and organizations
* SGS-Thomson M ...
(112 km diameter), with the overflow from Ingenii/Thomson directly to the east. Mare Ingenii is incompletely and thinly covered over much of its expanse with mare lava sheets. The light grey crater to the south of Mare Ingenii is
Obruchev.
The mare has swirling patterns of bright material, similar to
Reiner Gamma and to patterns within
Mare Marginis
Mare Marginis (Latin for 'Sea of the Edge'); ) is a lunar mare that lies on the very edge of the lunar nearside. The selenographic coordinates of this feature are 13.3° N, 86.1° E, and the diameter is 358 km.
This mare differs from most ...
, which are not associated with topographic or volcanic features. The
lunar swirls are believed to be associated with magnetic fields.
Prior to formal naming in 1961 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 ...
,
[ the crater was known as ''Basin XIV''.
Mare Ingenii is located at the antipode of the ]Mare Imbrium
Mare Imbrium (Latin ''imbrium'', the "Sea of Showers" or "Sea of Rains") is a vast lunar mare, lava plain within the Imbrium Basin on the Moon and is one of the larger craters in the Solar System. The Imbrium Basin formed from the collision ...
impact basin. The furrowed crater walls of the basin (and possibly those of Van de Graaff crater) may have been caused by focused seismic waves resulting from the Imbrium impact.
The mare contains the second instance of a lunar pit discovered on the Moon and one of several outside the Earth to date.GRAIL
The Holy Grail (, , , ) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers, sometimes providing eternal youth or sustenanc ...
File:Mare Ingenii Clementine.jpg, Orthogonal view of Mare Ingenii, showing variation in 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 ...
File:Mare Ingenii A17-M-1554.jpg, Mare Ingenii as viewed by Apollo 17
Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the eleventh and final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the sixth and most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, ...
, facing south
See also
* Mare Desiderii
* 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 ...
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in an eccentric Polar orbit, polar mapping orbit. Data collected by LRO have been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic ...
Camera (LROC) articles
The Swirls of Mare Ingenii
Depths of Mare Ingenii
References
External links
High resolution lunar overflight video
by Seán Doran, based on LRO data, that passes over Mare Ingenii at the start
Ingenii
Ingenii
Ingenii
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