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In addition to mountains, valleys, and impact craters, the following surface features have received names in the Lunar nomenclature, many of them named after a nearby crater or mountain. The listed diameter for these features is the longest dimension that contains the entire geological formation.
Geological studies of the Moon are based on a combination of Earth-based telescope observations, measurements from orbiting spacecraft, lunar samples, and geophysical data. . Six locations were sampled directly during the crewed Apollo program landings from 1969 to 1972, which returned 382 kilograms (842 lb) of lunar rock and lunar soil to Earth [8] In addition, three robotic Soviet Luna ...
The modern system of lunar nomenclature was introduced in 1651 by Giovanni Battista Riccioli. [1] Riccioli's map of the Moon was drawn by Francesco Maria Grimaldi, who has a crater named after him. A related set of features are the Lunar lacus / ˈ l eɪ k ə s / (singular also lacus, Latin for "lake"), [a] which are smaller basaltic plains of ...
This list is not comprehensive, as surveying of the Moon is a work in progress. Heights are in meters; most peaks have not been surveyed with the precision of a single meter.
The ages of the mare basalts have been determined both by direct radiometric dating and by the technique of crater counting.The radiometric ages range from about 3.16 to 4.2 billion years old (Ga), [4] whereas the youngest ages determined from crater counting are about 1.2 Ga. [5] Updated measurements of samples collected by the Chang’e-5 mission show that some lunar basalts could be as ...
The sunlit portion of the crescent moon is over exposed in this Nov. 16, 2023 photo. The rest of the moon is dimly illuminated by reflected sunlight from Earth or 'earthshine.'
The largest crater called such is about 290 km (180 mi) across in diameter, located near the lunar south pole. However, it is believed that many of the lunar maria were formed by giant impacts, with the resulting depression filled by upwelling lava. Craters typically will have some or all of the following features:
A wrinkle ridge is a type of feature commonly found on lunar maria, or basalt plains. These features are low, sinuous ridges formed on the mare surface that can extend for up to several hundred kilometers. Wrinkle ridges are tectonic features created after the lava cooled and solidified. They frequently outline ring structures buried within the ...