Palus Epidemiarum (

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 ...

''palūs epidēmiārum'' ''Marsh of Epidemics'') 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 ...

in the southwestern part 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 near side. This feature forms a rough band 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 ...

-flooded terrain that runs generally west–east, with a northward extension near the western end. It spans a shallow trough extending 300 by 120 km. The average thickness of the basalt is 200–250 m, with a maximum depth of 750 m. The feature lies to the southwest of

Mare Nubium Mare Nubium (Latin ''nūbium'', the "sea of clouds") is a lunar mare in the Nubium basin on the Moon's near side. The mare is located just to the southeast of Oceanus Procellarum. Formation The basin containing Mare Nubium is believed to ...

, and southeast of

Mare Humorum Mare Humorum (Latin ''hūmōrum'', the "Sea of Moisture" or "Sea of Humors") is a lunar mare. The impact basin it is located in is across. Geology It was not sampled by the Apollo program, so a precise age has not been determined. However, ...

. This mare is notable for a system of

rille Rille (German for 'groove') is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the surface of the Moon that resemble channels. The Latin term is ''rima'', plural ''rimae''. Typically, a rille can be several kilometers w ...

s in the western end named the Rimae Ramsden, and for the wide Rima Hesiodus that extends from near the midpoint to the east-northeast roughly 300 km. The flooded crater Capuanus occupies the southern center of the Palus Epidemiarum, and is attached to the southern edge. Near the western end is the flooded crater

Ramsden Ramsden may refer to: ;Places: * Ramsden, Orpington, England * Ramsden, Oxfordshire, England, a village and civil parish * Ramsden, Worcestershire, England, a hamlet * Ramsden Bellhouse, a village in Essex, England * Ramsden Park, Toronto, Canada ...

, after which the Rimae Ramsden are named. The crater Cichus forms the eastern end of the mare. The northern extension of the mare reaches the outer rims of the crater pair Campanus and Mercator. A narrow valley between these craters joins Palus Epidemiarum with Mare Nubium, and a rille from the Rimae Ramsden follows the course of this cleft. The small double-walled crater

Marth Marth may refer to: * Marth, Thuringia, Germany People with the surname * Albert Marth (1828–1897), German astronomer * Christophe Marth (born 1980), French rugby player * Frank Marth (1922–2014), American actor * Tommy Marth (1978–2012), Am ...

lies at the southern midpoint of this northern extension. The

selenographic coordinates 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 ...

of this feature are 32.0° S, 28.2° W, and it is enclosed within a diameter of 286 km.

Altimetry An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth under water. T ...

data from the

Clementine A clementine (''Citrus × clementina'') is a tangor, a citrus fruit hybrid between a willowleaf mandarin orange ( ''C.'' × ''deliciosa'') and a sweet orange (''C. × sinensis''), named in honor of Clément Rodier, a French missionary who f ...

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...

shows that this feature slopes downward from west to east, with a height difference of 2 km from end to end.

References

External links

LPOD — Grand Central Station
{{Lunar maria Epidemiarum, Palus

See also

References

External links