Mare Nectaris (Latin ''nectaris'', the "Sea of Nectar") is a small

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 ...

or sea (a volcanic lava plain noticeably darker than the rest 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 ...

's surface) located south of

Mare Tranquillitatis Mare Tranquillitatis (Latin for Sea of Tranquillity or Sea of Tranquility) is a lunar mare that sits within the Tranquillitatis basin on the Moon. It contains Tranquility Base, the first location on another celestial body to be visited by huma ...

southwest of

Mare Fecunditatis Mare Fecunditatis (Latin ''fēcunditātis'', the "Sea of Fecundity" or "Sea of Fertility") is a lunar mare in the eastern half of the visible Moon. The mare has a maximum diameter of 840 km. __NOTOC__ Description The Fecunditatis basin forme ...

, on the near side of the Moon. Montes Pyrenaeus borders the mare to the east and Sinus Asperitatis fuses to its northwestern edge. It is 84,000 square kilometers in size. Several large craters are situated at the borders of Mare Nectaris. The biggest one is lava-filled Fracastorius (124 km), which fuses with the southern coast of the Sea. A prominent trio of 100-km craters

Theophilus Theophilus is a male given name with a range of alternative spellings. Its origin is the Greek word Θεόφιλος from θεός (''theós'', "God") and φιλία (''philía'', "love or affection") can be translated as "Love of God" or "Friend ...

, Cyrillus and Catharina is located near northwestern coast. Other notable feature is a " ghost crater" Daguerre, almost entirely covered with lava, in the northern part of Mare Nectaris. Mare Nectaris is located in the central part of 860-km-diameter impact basin, which was formed 3.8–3.9 billion years ago. This event marks the beginning of

Nectarian The Nectarian Period of the lunar geologic timescale was from 3.920 billion years ago to 3.850 billion years ago. It is the period during which the Nectaris Basin and other major basins were formed by large impact events. Ejecta from Nectaris for ...

period of the

lunar geologic timescale The lunar geological timescale (or selenological timescale) divides the history of Earth's Moon into five generally recognized periods: the Copernican, Eratosthenian, Imbrian ( Late and Early epochs), Nectarian, and Pre-Nectarian. The boundar ...

. The best-preserved part of the rim of this basin is called Rupes Altai, in the southwest part of the basin. Lava filling of Mare Nectaris is younger than the basin itself. The mare material is approximately 1000m in depth, and mainly of the

period and the Lower Imbrian epoch, with the mare material of the Upper Imbrian epoch. The crater

on the northeastern side of the mare is of the

Eratosthenian The Eratosthenian period in the lunar geologic timescale runs from 3,200 million years ago to 1,100 million years ago. It is named after the crater Eratosthenes, which displays characteristics typical of craters of this age, including a surface ...

period. Thus, the crater is younger than the mare to its southeast. Enough subsidence has occurred to open a few arcuate

graben In geology, a graben () is a depression (geology), depressed block of the Crust (geology), crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults. Etymology ''Graben'' is a loan word from German language, German, meaning 'ditch' or 't ...

s on the western margin of the mare. A mass concentration (mascon), or gravitational high, was identified in the center of Mare Nectaris from Doppler tracking of the five Lunar Orbiter spacecraft in 1968. The mascon was confirmed and mapped at higher resolution with later orbiters such as

Lunar Prospector ''Lunar Prospector'' was a spacecraft that orbited the Moon for 19 months in 1998-99. From a low polar orbit, it mapped surface composition including lunar hydrogen deposits, measured magnetic and gravity fields, and studied lunar outgassing e ...

and

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 Nectaris (LRO).png, Basin of Mare Nectaris ( LRO image mosaic). Rupes Altai is a thin bright streak in the lower left File:Mare Nectaris (GLD100).jpg, Topographic map of the same area ( LRO data) File:Nectaris basin GRAIL gravity.jpg, Gravity map based on

File:Mare Nectaris AS11-42-6241.jpg, Oblique view facing southeast, from

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

. The large crater right of center is

, and Mädler is to its left. Fracastorius is near the central horizon, and the white mountain on the horizon at right is part of the Rupes Altai. The teardrop-shaped crater in the lower left is

Torricelli Torricelli may refer to: People with the surname * Evangelista Torricelli (1608–1647), Italian physicist and mathematician * Robert Torricelli (born 1951), United States politician * Moreno Torricelli (born 1970), Italian football player * Gi ...

References

{{Lunar maria Nectaris Nectaris Nectaris

See also

References