Explore the Universe - Lunar Basins/Maria

The Moon is always an interesting object to look at in the night sky.  It goes through different phases and gives you a different perspective each day.  If you look at the Moon with your naked eye you will notice dark patches scattered across the face of it.  These are known as 'maria', the Latin word for 'seas'.

The maria likely formed several billion years ago when the Solar System was still in its turbulent formative years.  Large meteors impacted the surface of the Moon, potentially causing it to crack open in isolated areas.  This allowed hot magma to bubble up from below filling these impact zones with volcanic basalt that tends to be much darker.  For a video of the Moon's evolution please see the link below.

Evolution of the Moon

The image below shows a picture I took of the moon on May 10, 2017.  The prominent maria required for the Explore the Universe certification are labelled below.  Two of the impact basins highlighted are not called maria.  Oceanus Procellarum is so large it is referred to as an ocean.  It also may be the largest impact crater in the Solar System.  Sinus Iridum -- The Bay of Rainbows, is an offshoot of the larger Mare Imbrium.

Lunar Basins/Maria Observation Record

With a few exceptions the maria on the Moon are poetically named after states of weather.  The list below translates the above maria names into English for your reference.

Basin	Translation
Mare Crisium	Sea of Crises
Mare Fecunditatis	Sea of Fertility
Mare Tranquilitatis	Sea of Tranquility
Mare Nectatis	Sea of Nectar
Mare Frigoris	Sea of Cold
Mare Serenitatis	Sea of Serenity
Mare Imbrium	Sea of Showers
Sinus Iridum	Bay of Rainbows
Mare Vaporum	Sea of Vapors
Oceanus Procellarum	Ocean of Storms
Mare Nubium	Sea of Clouds
Mare Humorum	Sea of Moisture

At some point I will discuss each individual basin in separate blog posts.  There is a more formal observing program specifically for the Moon that I intend to work on after the Explore the Universe certification.