Oceanus Procellarum Si Barbero Zetta Ferruggia

Sinus Roris (

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 ...

''sinus rōris'' "Bay of Dew") is a dark, basaltic plain on the near side 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 ...

that forms an extension of the northern edge of Oceanus Procellarum. The IAU-defined

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 bay are 54.0° N, 56.6° W, and the diameter is 202 km.

Characteristics

Following traditional nomenclature for the Moon, this feature was named sinus (bay) because of its small size, but it possesses many of the same characteristics as a lunar mare (sea). Like other maria (including Oceanus Procellarum), it is a dark, basaltic area on the near side of the Moon believed to be formed by impact craters that later filled with magma, which then hardened into smooth, dark plains. The borders of this feature are somewhat indistinct. The bay proper is framed along the western edge by the craters

Markov Markov ( Bulgarian, ), Markova, and Markoff are common surnames used in Russia and Bulgaria. Notable people with the name include: Academics * Ivana Markova (1938–2024), Czechoslovak-British emeritus professor of psychology at the University of S ...

and

Oenopides Oenopides of Chios (; born c. 490 BCE) was an ancient Greece, Greek geometer, astronomer and mathematician, who lived around 450 Common Era, BCE. Biography Only limited information is known about the early life of Oenopides, other than that h ...

, and to the north by Babbage and

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

. At the eastern edge it joins the Mare Frigoris. Many selenographers have taken liberties with the dimensions of Sinus Roris. Lunar maps often indicate a much larger region for this bay than the official dimensions. These can range out as far as the craters

Gerard Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other Germanic name, early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful ...

and Repsold to the west, Harpalus to the east, and as far south as 44° N

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

, approaching Mons Rümker. The area where the official coordinates place this bay has a generally higher

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 ...

than the mare to the south, most likely due to deposits of ejecta from impacts to the north. Early concepts of a Moon landing promoted by Wernher von Braun envisaged the establishment of a permanent lunar base in the Sinus Roris region. These concepts lead, in much modified form, to Project Apollo. Arthur C. Clarke's 1961 novel '' A Fall of Moondust'' is set in a fictional "Sea of Thirst" located within Sinus Roris.

References

External links

USGS lunar map showing Sinus Roris
{{Moon colonization Maria on the Moon

Characteristics

See also

References

External links