Mare Undarum (Latin ''undārum'', the "sea of waves") is a shallow, irregular

lunar mare The lunar maria (; singular: mare ) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient asteroid impacts on the far side on the Moon that triggered volcanic activity on the opposite (near) side. They were dubbed , Latin for 'seas' ...

located just north of

Mare Spumans Mare Spumans (Latin ''spūmāns'', the "foaming sea") is a lunar mare located just south of Mare Undarum on the lunar near side. It is one of the many elevated lakes contained in the Crisium basin, surrounding Mare Crisium. The surrounding ba ...

on the lunar near side, between the crater Firmicus and the eastern limb. It lies within a trough between the third and fourth raised rings formed by the impact that created the

Mare Crisium Mare Crisium (Latin ''crisium'', the "Sea of Crises") is a lunar mare located in the Moon's Crisium basin, just northeast of Mare Tranquillitatis. The basin is of the Pre-Imbrian period, 4.55 to 3.85 billion years ago. Characteristics Mare C ...

. The selenographic

coordinate In geometry, a coordinate system is a system that uses one or more numbers, or coordinates, to uniquely determine the position of the points or other geometric elements on a manifold such as Euclidean space. The order of the coordinates is si ...

s of this mare are 7.5° N, 68.7° E. It has a maximum diameter of 245 km. There are five known

lunar dome A lunar dome is a type of shield volcano that is found on the surface of the Earth's Moon. They are typically formed by highly viscous, possibly silica-rich lava, erupting from localized vents followed by relatively slow cooling. Lunar domes are ...

s within the mare. The surrounding basin material is of the

Nectarian The Nectarian Period of the lunar geologic timescale runs from 3920 million years ago to 3850 million years ago. It is the period during which the Nectaris Basin and other major basins were formed by large impact events. Ejecta from Nectaris form ...

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 by ...

, with the mare

basalt Basalt (; ) is an 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 surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...

being of the

Upper Imbrian The Imbrian is a lunar geologic period divided into two epochs, the Early and Late. Early Imbrian In the lunar geologic timescale, the Early Imbrian epoch occurred from 3,850 million years ago to about 3,800 million years ago. It overlaps the end ...

epoch. The crater Dubyago can be seen on the southern edge of the mare. On the northeastern edge of the mare is the crater Condorcet P. When Mädler observed this area in the 1830s, he noted variations in the curved dark streaks that form this mare, leading him to speculate that the changes were caused by vegetation.

Fictional References

Mare Undarum was the location of the second catapult in Robert A. Heinlein's novel

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress ''The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress'' is a 1966 science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein about a lunar colony's revolt against absentee rule from Earth. The novel illustrates and discusses libertarian ideals. It is respected for it ...

. The exact location of the catapult was kept secret and was "A matter of Lunar national security."

Gallery

Mundarum.jpg, Mare Undarum from the NASA Lunar Atlas Mare_Undarum_AS17-M-1626.jpg, Oblique view of Mare Undarum (foreground) and

(upper right), facing south, from Apollo 17 LAC 62.jpg, Chart of Mare Undarum and surroundings

References

External links

NASA lunar Atlas
__NOTOC__ {{Lunar maria Undarum Undarum Undarum

Fictional References

Gallery

See also

References

External links