Serenitatis Basin
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Mare Serenitatis (Latin ''serēnitātis'', the "Sea of Serenity") 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 to the east of
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 ...
on 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 ...
. Its diameter is .


Geology

Mare Serenitatis is located within the Serenitatis basin, which is of the
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 ...
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 ...
. The material surrounding the mare is of the Lower Imbrian epoch, while the mare material is 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 en ...
epoch. The mare
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 ...
covers a majority of the basin and overflows into
Lacus Somniorum Lacus Somniorum (Latin ''somniōrum'', "Lake of Dreams") is a basaltic plain located in the northeastern part of the Moon's near side. It is located at selenographic coordinates 37.56° N, 30.8° E, and has a diameter of 424.76 kilometers. The n ...
to the northeast. The most noticeable feature is the crater
Posidonius Posidonius (; , "of Poseidon") "of Apameia" (ὁ Ἀπαμεύς) or "of Rhodes" (ὁ Ῥόδιος) (), was a Greeks, Greek politician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, historian, mathematician, and teacher native to Apamea (Syria), Apame ...
on the northeast rim of the mare. The ring feature to the west of the mare is indistinct, except for Montes Haemus. Mare Serenitatis connects with
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 ...
to the southeast and borders
Mare Vaporum Mare Vaporum (Latin ''vapōrum'', the "sea of vapors") is a lunar mare located between the southwest rim of Mare Serenitatis and the southeast rim of Mare Imbrium. It was named by Giovanni Battista Riccioli in 1651.''Autostar Suite Astronomer ...
to the southwest. Mare Serenitatis is an example of a
mascon In astronomy, astrophysics and geophysics, a mass concentration (or mascon) is a region of a planet's or moon's crust that contains a large positive gravity anomaly. In general, the word "mascon" can be used as a noun to refer to an excess distr ...
, an anomalous gravitational region on the Moon. A mass concentration (mascon), or gravitational high, was identified in the center of Mare Serenitatis from Doppler tracking of the five
Lunar Orbiter The Lunar Orbiter program was a series of five uncrewed lunar orbiter missions launched by the United States in 1966 and 1967. Intended to help select Apollo landing sites by mapping the Moon's surface, they provided the first photographs from ...
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:Serenitatis basin topo.jpg, Topographic map File:Serenitatis basin GRAIL gravity.jpg, Gravity map based on
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 ...


Names

Like most of the other maria on the Moon, Mare Serenitatis was named by
Giovanni Riccioli Giovanni Battista Riccioli (17 April 1598 – 25 June 1671) was an Italian astronomer and a Catholic priest in the Jesuit order. He is known, among other things, for his experiments with pendulums and with falling bodies, for his discussion of ...
, whose 1651 nomenclature system has become standardized. Previously, William Gilbert had cited it as within the Regio Magna Occidentalis ("Large Western Region") in his map of ''c''.1600.
Pierre Gassendi Pierre Gassendi (; also Pierre Gassend, Petrus Gassendi, Petrus Gassendus; 22 January 1592 – 24 October 1655) was a French philosopher, Catholic priest, astronomer, and mathematician. While he held a church position in south-east France, he a ...
had included it as part of the 'Homuncio' ('little man'), referring to a small humanoid figure that he could see among the maria; Gassendi also referred to it as 'Thersite' after
Thersites In Greek mythology, Thersites (; Ancient Greek: Θερσίτης) was a soldier of the Greek army during the Trojan War. Family The ''Iliad'' does not mention his father's name, which may suggest that he should be viewed as a commoner rathe ...
, the ugliest warrior in the
Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...
.
Michael van Langren Michael van Langren (April 1598 May 1675) was an astronomer and cartographer of the Low Countries. A Catholic, he chiefly found employment in service to the Spanish Monarchy. Family Michael van Langren was the youngest member of a family of Du ...
had labelled it the Mare Eugenianum ("Eugenia's Sea") in his 1645 map, in honour of
Isabella Clara Eugenia Isabella Clara Eugenia (; 12 August 1566 – 1 December 1633), sometimes referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia, was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, which comprised the Low Countries and the north of modern France, with her husband Albert ...
, queen of the
Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
. And
Johannes Hevelius Johannes Hevelius Some sources refer to Hevelius as Polish: * * * * * * * Some sources refer to Hevelius as German: * * * * *of the Royal Society * (in German also known as ''Hevel''; ; – 28 January 1687) was a councillor and mayor of Danz ...
included it within Pontus Euxinus (after the classical name for the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
) in his 1647 map.


Exploration

Both
Luna 21 ''Luna 21'' (Ye-8 series) was an uncrewed space mission, and its spacecraft, of the Luna program, also called ''Lunik 21'', in 1973. The spacecraft landed on the Moon and deployed the second Soviet lunar rover, '' Lunokhod 2''. The primary o ...
and
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, ...
landed near the eastern border of Mare Serenitatis, in the area of the
Montes Taurus Montes Taurus is a rugged, jumbled mountainous region on the Moon. It is located to the east of the Mare Serenitatis, in the northeastern quadrant of the Moon's near side. Coordinates of their center are , and their extent is about 170 km. ...
range. Apollo 17 landed specifically in the Taurus-Littrow valley, and Luna 21 landed in Le Monnier crater. SpaceIL's ''
Beresheet ''Beresheet'' (, ''Bərēšīṯ'', "In the beginning"; Book of Genesis) was a demonstrator of a small robotic lunar lander and lunar probe operated by SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries. Its aims included inspiring youth and promoting c ...
'' lunar lander was planned to land in Mare Serenitatis, but crashed into the surface on 11 April 2019. Its final resting place was about 33°N, 19°E, near to the centre of the
mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...
.


Views

Image:Mare Serenetatis AS17-M-0940-0947-0954.jpg, These are three views of Mare Serenitatis, taken by the mapping camera of the
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, ...
mission in 1972, facing north-northeast from an average altitude of 107 km. At the right is the east margin of Mare Serenitatis, with the 95 km diameter crater
Posidonius Posidonius (; , "of Poseidon") "of Apameia" (ὁ Ἀπαμεύς) or "of Rhodes" (ὁ Ῥόδιος) (), was a Greeks, Greek politician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, historian, mathematician, and teacher native to Apamea (Syria), Apame ...
at the central horizon, the basalt-flooded Le Monnier crater to the south, the mare ridge (or
wrinkle ridge A wrinkle ridge is a type of feature commonly found on lunar maria, or basalt plains. These features are low, sinuous ridges formed on the mare surface that can extend for up to several hundred kilometers. Wrinkle ridges are tectonic features ...
)
Dorsa Aldrovandi Dorsa Aldrovandi is a wrinkle ridge system at in Mare Serenitatis on the Moon. It is about 127 km long and was named after the 16th century Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi. The north end of the feature is at the crater Le Monnier, and ...
at center, Littrow crater at the right, and the landing site of Apollo 17 in the lower right corner in the
Taurus–Littrow Taurus–Littrow is a Moon, lunar valley located on the Near side of the Moon, near side at the coordinates . It served as the landing site for the United States, American Apollo 17 mission in December 1972, the last crewed mission to the Moon ...
valley. In the center is the relatively small crater
Bessel Bessel may refer to: Mathematics and science * Bessel beam * Bessel ellipsoid * Bessel function in mathematics * Bessel's inequality in mathematics * Bessel's correction in statistics * Bessel filter, a linear filter often used in audio crossover ...
(16 km), and two prominent rays probably from the
Tycho Tycho is a masculine given name, a latinization of Greek Τύχων, from the name of Tyche (), the Greek goddess of fortune or luck. The Russian form of the name is '' Tikhon'' (Тихон). People Given name * Tycho Brahe (1546–1601), Dan ...
impact far to the south. At the left is the western margin of the mare, with the
Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains * * Azerbaijani: , * * * * * * * * * * * is a mountain range at the intersection of Asia and Europe. Stretching between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, they are surrounded by the Caucasus region ...
at the central horizon, the
Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...
at left, and the Sulpicius Gallus Rilles at the lower right. The Sun elevation drops from 24 degrees at right to 5 degrees at left as the Command Module ''America'' orbited the Moon. Image:Mare Serenitatis AS17-150-23069.jpg, Some of the strongest tonal, color, and structural contrasts among mare materials occur in Mare Serenitatis. This color Apollo 17 image shows that the dark materials were emplaced before the lighter materials near the top.


In popular culture

*Mare Serenitatis forms one of the eyes for the
Man in the Moon In many cultures, several pareidolic images of a human face, head or body are recognized in the disc of the full moon; they are generally known as the Man in the Moon. The images are based on the appearance of the dark areas (known as lunar m ...
. *Mare Serenitatis is mentioned in
Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. Clarke co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A ...
's 1951 short story " The Sentinel". *Most of the action in
John Wyndham John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his name ...
's 1933 short story "The Last Lunarians" takes place on the edge of the Sea of Serenity. *Mare Serentitatis borders the Authority Moon colony in
Robert Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...
's 1966 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 planet Earth. The novel illustrates and discusses libertarian ideals. It is respe ...
''. *The most southern part of Mare Serenitatis is depicted on the cover of the album ''Apollo - Atmospheres and Soundtracks'' by Brian Eno, Roger Eno, and Daniel Lanois (1982). The photograph on the cover is AS17-150-23069, made during the mission of
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, ...
in December 1972. *''Mare Serenitatis'' is the name of a Frigate-type spaceship playable in ''Infinite Lagrange'', a game developed and published by
NetEase Games NetEase, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet technology company founded by Ding Lei in June 1997. It provides online services with content, community, communications, and commerce. The company develops and operates online PC and mobile games, advertis ...
. *In the animation '' Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal'', Mare Serenitatis is the location of Silver Millennium and the original Moon Castle.


See also

*
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 ...


References


External links


Mare Serenitatis at The Moon Wiki
* * * * {{Lunar maria Serenitatis Serenitatis Serenitatis