17 October 2009

Lunar Terminology

Feature	Plural	Meaning from Latin	Contemporary Meaning	Example Best Seen
Basin			bery large impact features which have been filled with lava	Mare Imbrium Day 10
Caldera			the collapsed top of a volcano which forms a crater
Catena		Chain	chain of craters	Catena Davy Day 8
Cleft			a cliff often found in the inside of crater walls as the result of slumping	Langrenous Day 2
Crater	Craters		a circular or nearly circular feature on the Moon	Copernicus Day 9
Craterlet			a crater that is just at the lower limits of observability with the optics being used
Dome			lowrounded hills	Mons Rumker Day 12
Dorsum	Dorsa	Back	wrinkle ridge tens of meters high	Dorsa Smirnov Day 5
Fault			cracks in the lunar surface caused by compression and spreading	Rupes Recta Day 8
Graben			te process by which a valley forms when the material between two parallel faults sinks below the surrounding area due to spreading	Vallis Alpes Day 7
Highlands			the portion of the Moon not occupied by craters, walled plains, palus, and basins; also called the uplands	south polar region
Impact Basin			huge impact features that have been modified by volcanism, lava flows and subsequent impacts	Mare Imbrium Day 10
Lacus		Lake	small plain	Lacus Somniorum Day 5
Mare	Maria	Sea	large plain	Mare Crisium Day 3
Massif			a large solitary mountain	Picolomini Day 5
Mons	Montes	Mount	mountain	Montes Teneriffe Day 8
Oceanus		Ocean	very large plain	Oceanus Procelarum Day 10
Palus		Swamp	small plain	Palus Somni Day 5
Planitia		Plain	low plain
Promontorium		Promontory	headland jutting into a mare	Promontorium Laplace Day 10
Ray			a stripe on the lunar surface where ejects has landed from the formation of a crater; most prominent at the time of full Moon	Tycho Day 14
Rift Valley			a graben valley	Vallis Alpes Day 7
Rille			narrow valleys formed between parallel faults	Hyginus Rille Day 6
Rima	Rimae	Crack	rille (narrow valley)	Rima Huyginus Day 6
Rupes		Cliff	scarp	Rupes Recta Day 8
Scarp			a cliff formed by faulting	Rupes Altai (Altai Scarp) Day 5
Sinus		Bay	indentation at the edge of a mare	Sinus Iridum Day 10
Upland			the portion of the Moon not occupied by craters, walled plains, palus, and basins; also called the highlands	south polar region
Vallis	Valles	Valley	large valley	Vallis Alpes Day 7
Walled Plain			features over 70 km across; low walls; moderately sunkrn floor; (no central peak)	Prolemaeus Day 7
Wrinkle Ridge			see Dorsum	Dorsa Smirnov Day 5
Terms in Italics are English terms Based on and expanded from Moon Observer's Guide

Crater- let <- 12 km

Crater 12 km ->

Walled Plain 70 km ->

Impact Basin 300 km ->

Mountains, mountain ranges and valleys on the Moon were given Latinized names after similar features on earth. Craters have been named after people, primarily dead people or people who only lived in mythology (the exception being the craters named after the Apollo 11 astronauts who were all living at the time the craters were named). But the largest craters have been given Latin names. This is a list of those Latin names and their meanings.

Feature	Meaning	Visible
Lacus Aestatis	Lake of Summer	Day 13
Lacus Autumni	Lake of Autumn	Day 13
Lacus Doloris	Lake of Sorrow	Day 6
Lacus Excellentiae	Lake of Excellence	Day 10
Lacus Gaudii	Lake of Joy	Day 6
Lacus Lenatitis	Lake of Tenderness	Day 6
Lacus Mortis	Lake of Death	Day 5
Lacus Odii	Lake of Hatred	Day 6
Lacus Somniorum	Lake of Dreams	Day 5
Lacus Timoris	Lake of Fear	Day 10
Lacus Veris	Lake of Spring	Day 13
Mare Anguis	Sea of Serpents	Day 2
Mare Australe	Southern Sea	Day 3
Mare Cognitum	Known Sea	Day 9
Mare Crisium	Sea of Crises	Day 2
Mare Fecunditatis	Sea of Fertility	Day 2
Mare Frigoris	Sea of Cold	Day 5
Mare Humboldtianum	Sea of Alexander von Humboldt	Day 2
Mare Humorum	Sea of Moisture	Day 10
Mare Imbrium	Sea of Rains	Day 7
Mare Insularum	Sea of Islands	Day 8
Mare Marginis	Border Sea	Day 3
Mare Nectaris	Sea of Nectar	Day 5
Mare Nubium	Sea of Clouds	Day 8
Mare Orientale	Eastern Sea	Day 14
Mare Serenitatis	Sea of Serenity	Day 5
Mare Smythii	Smyth's Sea	Day 3
Mare Spumans	Foaming Sea	Day 2
Mare Tranquilitatis	Sea of Tranquility	Day 4
Mare Undularum	Sea of Waves	Day 2
Mare Vaporum	Sea of Vapors	Day 6
Oceanus Procellarum	Ocean of Storms	Day 10
Palus Epidemiarum	Marsh of Epidemics	Day 9
Palus Putredensis	Marsh of Decay	Day 8
Palus Somni	Marsh of Sleep	Day 4
Sinus Aestuum	Bat of Billows	Day 8
Sinus Amoris	Bay of Love	Day 4
Sinus Asperitatis	Bay of Asperity	Day 5
Sinus Fidei	Sea of Faith	Day 8
Sinus Honoris	Bay of Honor	Day 6
Sinus Iridum	Bay of Rainbows	Day 9
Sinus Medii	Central Bay	Day 6
Sinus Roris	Bay of Dew	Day 9
Sinus Successus	Bay of Success	Day 2
Statio Tranquilitatis	Tranquility Base	Day 5