Mare Humboldtianum (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''humboldtiānum'', the "Sea of

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...

") is a

lunar mare The lunar maria (; singular: mare ) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient asteroid impacts on the far side on the Moon that triggered volcanic activity on the opposite (near) side. They were dubbed , Latin for 'seas' ...

located just to the east of

Mare Frigoris Mare Frigoris (Latin ''frīgōris'', the "Sea of Cold") is a lunar mare in the far north of the Moon. It is located in the outer rings of the Procellarum basin, just north of Mare Imbrium, and stretches east to north of Mare Serenitatis. It is j ...

, in the center of Humboldtianum basin. It is located along the northeastern limb of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, and continues on to the far side. Due to its location, the visibility of this feature can be affected by libration, and on occasion it can be hidden from view from

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

. The basin material is of the Nectarian

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 by ...

, with the mare material being of the Upper Imbrian epoch (3.4–3.7 Ga). The lighter gray area to the southeast of the dark mare material is a region of hills within the basin. The rim of this basin forms a mountain range that can be seen under oblique lighting conditions. This mare is centered at 56.9° N, 81.5° E, and its maximal size is 230 km. However the surrounding basin extends for a diameter of over 600 km. The walled plain Bel'kovich spills over the northwestern portion of Mare Humboldtianum, and the flooded crater Bel'kovich A lies across the southwestern rim of Bel'kovich and part of the floor of the mare. At the center of the Humboldtianum basin is 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 dist ...

, or gravitational high. The mascon was first identified by Doppler tracking of the Lunar Prospector spacecraft. This mare is situated between near (visible) and far sides of the Moon, like a link between known and unknown. That's why Johann Mädler named it after

, a prominent explorer of unknown lands. It is one of only two lunar maria that are named after people, the other being

Mare Smythii Mare Smythii (Latin for "Smyth's Sea") is a lunar mare located along the equator on the easternmost edge of the Moon's near side. It is named for the 19th-century British astronomer William Henry Smyth. The Smythii basin where the mare is located ...

(named after British astronomer

William Henry Smyth Admiral William Henry Smyth (21 January 1788 – 8 September 1865) was a Royal Navy officer, hydrographer, astronomer and numismatist. He is noted for his involvement in the early history of a number of learned societies, for his hydrographic ...

), and is located along the eastern lunar limb.

Popular culture

* In an episode of the 1967 TV Series

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', often shortened to ''Captain Scarlet'', is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 Productions for distributor ...

, a Mysteron outpost was shown to be located somewhere in the Humboldt Sea.

External links

Mare Humboldtianum Constellation region of interest
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) article, Posted by Bashar Rizk on June 3, 2010
Map with current names of surface featuresarchive
.
Geological Map of the Humboldtianum Basin and its deposits
abstract from the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 2017.
Geological Map of the Humboldtianum Basin and its deposits poster
poster presentation from the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 2017.

References

{{Lunar maria Humboldtianum Alexander von Humboldt Humboldtianum Humboldtianum