SEA OF CLEVERNESS
| MARE INGENII, Latin for the Sea of Cleverness. Located on the far side of the Moon!, this is a rare location as only 2.5% of the far side is made up of Lunar Mare. Click the more information tab for a detailed description of this location. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A SEA OF CLEVERNESS CLAIM for just 29.99! |
Sea of Cleverness Location Description
The reason we do not see the far side of the Moon is because gravitational forces between the Earth and Moon have synchronized the Moon’s rotation to that of Earth’s rotation. As the Moon orbits the Earth, it rotates at a speed that keeps the same face pointing towards us. Both sides of the Moon receive equal amounts of sunlight as the Moon rotates and orbits the Earth; therefore there is no dark side of the Moon, only a near and far side.
Mare Ingenii, Latin for the Sea of Cleverness, is one of 23 Maria formations on the Moon, and one of only 2 Mare formations that lie entirely on the far side. Maria formations appear as dark areas on the lunar surface when viewed from Earth and ancient astronomers believed these dark areas were large bodies of water naming them Mare, from the Latin word Maria, which means Seas. These Lunar Maria were actually created by ancient lava flows, which occurred on the Lunar surface between 3.2 and 3.8 billion years ago while the Moon was undergoing a period of major volcanic activity. Approximately 32% of the Moon’s near side is categorized as Lunar Maria, while only about 2.5% of the far side is categorized as such.
Mare Ingenii is located within the largest known impact crater in our solar system, called the “South Pole – Aitken” Basin (SPA). The SPA impact crater is approximately 2500 km (1,553 miles) in diameter with a depth of 13 km (8 miles). Mare Ingenii is the only Mare in this basin and it is flooded with a very thin layer of lava, with the majority of the lava contained in the nearby Thomson Crater. The volcanic material in this basin consists mostly of basalt. Basalt is a common form of volcanic rock found on Earth as well as the Moon. Basalt is a Silicate mineral formed when lava flows are pushed to the surface and cool rapidly. This type of rock is characterized by its dark color and lack of crystallization.
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