{"id":21540,"date":"2021-08-06T09:09:36","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T09:09:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=99149"},"modified":"2021-08-06T09:19:08","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T09:19:08","slug":"a-guide-to-the-moons-mare-humorum","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/a-guide-to-the-moons-mare-humorum\/","title":{"rendered":"A guide to the Moon\u2019s Mare Humorum"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"><\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Pete Lawrence\n                \t\t<\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Friday, 06 August 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p><hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n<p class=\"&quot;p1&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">The Mare Humorum, or Sea of Moisture, is a circular feature that appears foreshortened into an oval when viewed from Earth. The surface of the sea is fairly regular at first glance, but slowly reveals extra detail on closer examination. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">Under oblique illumination, for example, there is a set of concentric wrinkle ridges to the east of the mare, running parallel to its shore.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>For more info on lunar observing, read our guides on <a href=\"\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/how-to-observe-the-moon\/&quot;\">how to observe the Moon<\/a> and the <a href=\"\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/best-features-observe-moon\/&quot;\">best features on the Moon<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"&quot;image-handler__container\" style=\"padding-bottom:\"> <img class=\"&quot;wp-image-99152\" align=\"\" data-src=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2021\/08\/Mare-Humorum-84d937f.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C466&quot;\" width=\"&quot;1200&quot;\" height=\"&quot;902&quot;\" alt=\"&quot;Mare\" title=\"&quot;Mare\" \/><\/div><div class=\"&quot;caption-hold&quot;\"><figcaption class=\"&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;caption-copy&quot;\"><i class=\"&quot;icon-arrow\" \/> Mare Humorum is a central point from which you can explore ghost craters, rilles and more. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\"&quot;im-image-caption&quot;\" \/><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"&quot;p1&quot;\"><b>Facts about Mare Humorum<\/b><\/h1>\n<ul><li class=\"&quot;p1&quot;\"><b>Size:<\/b>\u00a0390km<br \/><b \/><\/li>\n<li class=\"&quot;p1&quot;\"><b>Age:<\/b>\u00a0Between 3.85 and 3.92 billion years<\/li>\n<li class=\"&quot;p1&quot;\"><b>Location: <\/b>Latitude 24\u00b0S, longitude 39\u00b0W<br \/><b \/><\/li>\n<li class=\"&quot;p1&quot;\"><b>Recommended observing equipment: <\/b>3-inch telescope<\/li>\n<\/ul><p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">The process behind the formation of <a href=\"\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/lunar-maria-guide-list-seas-moon\/&quot;\">lunar maria<\/a> like Humorum starts with a large impact that cracks the lunar crust. The depression created by the impact then fills with lava, which wells up through the cracks from below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">The lava buckles as it cools, forming low-profile ridges that appear concentric to the basin edge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">The ridges can be tricky to spot under high illumination, but when the light is coming from the side their elevated height causes them to cast shadows.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"&quot;image-handler__container\" style=\"padding-bottom:\"> <img class=\"&quot;wp-image-98364\" align=\"\" data-src=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2021\/07\/Mare-humorum-moon-6465049.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C543&quot;\" width=\"&quot;1200&quot;\" height=\"&quot;1050&quot;\" alt=\"&quot;The\" title=\"&quot;The\" \/><\/div><div class=\"&quot;caption-hold&quot;\"><figcaption class=\"&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;caption-copy&quot;\"><i class=\"&quot;icon-arrow\" \/> Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\"&quot;im-image-caption&quot;\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">Beyond the shore, past the wrinkle ridges to the southeast, is a series of rilles known as the Rimae Hippalus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">Between these features lies a solitary island, which appears isolated on the lava plain that surrounds it. This is the Promontorium Kelvin.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">It is flanked to the southeast by the mountain range known as the Rupes Kelvin, named after William Thompson, Lord Kelvin, another feature that appears to run parallel to the shore of the Mare Humorum.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"&quot;image-handler__container\" style=\"padding-bottom:\"> <img class=\"&quot;wp-image-2374\" align=\"\" data-src=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2019\/02\/MareHumorumF10-12-08-12-06-24-10color-a01b29b-e1627918355470.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C484&quot;\" width=\"&quot;636&quot;\" height=\"&quot;496&quot;\" alt=\"&quot;Mare\" title=\"&quot;Moon_Humorum_001&quot;\" \/><\/div><div class=\"&quot;caption-hold&quot;\"><figcaption class=\"&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;caption-copy&quot;\"><i class=\"&quot;icon-arrow\" \/> Mare Humorum by Jon Bosley, Texas, USA. Equipment: C9.25 Edge HD, DFK 21AU618 Color<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\"&quot;im-image-caption&quot;\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">The mare\u2019s floor is littered with small craterlets, the largest of which is about 10km across. <\/span><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">The most prominent craters sit on the mare\u2019s northern and southern shores.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">On the southern shore, 66km crater Doppelmayer appears to be sinking into the mare\u2019s lava. The southern half of Doppelmayer\u2019s rim is well defined, as is its lofty central mountain peak.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">However, the northern edge disappears under the mare. East of Doppelmayer is 26km crater Puiseux.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"&quot;image-handler__container\" style=\"padding-bottom:\"> <img class=\"&quot;wp-image-51062\" align=\"\" data-src=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2020\/07\/Mare-Cognitum-Cont-753ffdc.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C443&quot;\" width=\"&quot;864&quot;\" height=\"&quot;618&quot;\" alt=\"&quot;An\" title=\"&quot;An\" \/><\/div><div class=\"&quot;caption-hold&quot;\"><figcaption class=\"&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;caption-copy&quot;\"><i class=\"&quot;icon-arrow\" \/> An image of the Moon captured by the Ranger 7 spacecraft on 31 July 1964. Mare Nubium is lower right, Mare Humorum lower left and Mare Cognitum upper right. Credit: NASA<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\"&quot;im-image-caption&quot;\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">This one lacks the magnificent central peak of its larger neighbour and its floor completely flooded by Humorum\u2019s lava. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">However, Puiseux\u2019s entire rim is above the mare\u2019s floor, creating a feature known as a ghost crater. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">The northern shore is marked by the impressive, 114km-wide <a href=\"\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/astrophotography\/moon\/gassendi-crater\/&quot;\">Crater Gassendi<\/a>. Within its rim is the network of cracks known as Rimae Gassendi, various hills and a double mountain peak.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">On the western shore, a mountain range curves south and west of Gassendi. Between it and the mare floor lies a \u2018beach\u2019 of rugged material that stops abruptly as it encounters the smooth mare.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">The beach is flanked by a scarp, or cliff. It is visible adjacent to the rim of Gassendi, then disappears for some 110km before reappearing and stretching almost all the way down to Doppelmayer.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"&quot;image-handler__container\" style=\"padding-bottom:\"> <img class=\"&quot;wp-image-51122\" align=\"\" data-src=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2020\/07\/Mare-Humorum-Cont-4863e7b.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C526&quot;\" width=\"&quot;717&quot;\" height=\"&quot;608&quot;\" alt=\"&quot;Mare\" title=\"&quot;Mare\" \/><\/div><div class=\"&quot;caption-hold&quot;\"><figcaption class=\"&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;caption-copy&quot;\"><i class=\"&quot;icon-arrow\" \/> Credit: NASA \/ Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\"&quot;im-image-caption&quot;\" \/><\/div>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"&quot;mceTemp&quot;\" \/>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\" \/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Pete Lawrence Published: Friday, 06 August 2021 at 12:00 am The Mare Humorum, or Sea of Moisture, is a circular feature that appears foreshortened into an oval when viewed from Earth. The surface of the sea is fairly regular at first glance, but slowly reveals extra detail on closer examination. Under oblique illumination, for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[34],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Pete Lawrence Published: Friday, 06 August 2021 at 12:00 am The Mare Humorum, or Sea of Moisture, is a circular feature that appears foreshortened into an oval when viewed from Earth. The surface of the sea is fairly regular at first glance, but slowly reveals extra detail on closer examination. Under oblique illumination, for&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/21540"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}