What are the dark areas of the Moon?

What are the dark areas of the Moon?

The dark areas are young plains called maria and are composed of basalt. The basalt flowed in and flooded the area created by a huge impact with an asteroid or comet.

What is the dark side of the Moon called?

The other face, most of which is never visible from the Earth, is therefore called the “far side of the Moon”. Over time, some crescent-shaped edges of the far side can be seen due to libration. In total, 59 percent of the Moon’s surface is visible from Earth at one time or another.

Are the dark spots on the Moon craters?

These dark spots were called as craters,Craters on the Moon are caused by asteroids and meteorites colliding with the lunar surface. The Moon’s surface is covered with thousands of craters. … Unlike the Earth, the Moon has no atmosphere to protect itself from impacting bodies.

Why are the dark areas on the Moon called seas?

They were dubbed maria, Latin for ‘seas’, by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas. They are less reflective than the “highlands” as a result of their iron-rich composition, and hence appear dark to the naked eye. The maria cover about 16% of the lunar surface, mostly on the side visible from Earth.

Why can I see the dark side of the Moon?

It’s the Earth’s albedo—sunlight being reflected from Earth and on to the Moon. It’s always happening, but it’s only visible to the human eye when only a slither of the Moon itself is being lit by the Sun. At the time, Earth is at its brightest as seen from the Moon—it’s almost 100% illuminated by the Sun.

What is the darkest phase of the moon?

During its “new moon” phase, the moon is always “black”. It happens at that time of the month when the moon passes through the same part of the sky as the sun and as such, the moon’s dark or unilluminated side faces Earth.

What are the GREY spots on the Moon?

These gray patches are solidified volcanic lava flows. In the Moon’s youth, its interior was still molten, and magma would erupt onto its surface. These dark areas formed when massive asteroid or meteorite impacts on the Moon’s surface created basins.

Do all moons have a dark side?

In fact, the far side of the moon is no more and no less dark than the hemisphere we do see. Since the moon is a sphere and light shines radially outward from the sun, one hemisphere of the moon is illuminated at all times, except in the case of a lunar eclipse.

Has anyone seen the dark side of the moon?

The Chinese spacecraft is the first to ever land on this unexplored area of the moon. The Chinese spacecraft is the first to ever land on this unexplored area of the moon.

What is the darkest crater on the Moon?

Tycho seen by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (rotate display if you see a crater illusion due to the atypical position of the light source). NASA
Coordinates	43.31°S 11.36°W
Diameter	85 km (53.4 miles)
Depth	4.8 km (2.98 miles)
Colongitude	12° at sunrise

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Tycho seen by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (rotate display if you see a crater illusion due to the atypical position of the light source). NASA
Coordinates	43.31°S 11.36°W
Diameter	85 km (53.4 miles)
Depth	4.8 km (2.98 miles)
Colongitude	12° at sunrise

Why is it silent on the Moon?

However, the Moon is in space, and space is mostly a vacuum (there are always some atoms floating around, but they are VERY far apart and don’t interact with one another). Thus there is no sound on the Moon.

What is the dark spot in space?

The Great Dark Spot is thought to be a hole in the methane cloud deck of Neptune. The spot was observed at different times with different sizes and shapes. The Great Dark Spot generated large white clouds at or just below the tropopause layer similar to high-altitude cirrus clouds found on Earth.

Is Moon called silent sea?

The Silent Sea is a term 17th-century astronomers used to refer to the dark spots on the Moon, which scientists now recognize as craters known as “maria.”

What is the dark part of the sea called?

The abyssal zone or abyssopelagic zone is a layer of the pelagic zone of the ocean. “Abyss” derives from the Greek word ἄβυσσος, meaning bottomless. At depths of 4,000 to 6,000 metres (13,000 to 20,000 ft), this zone remains in perpetual darkness. It covers 83% of the total area of the ocean and 60% of Earth’s surface.

What is the ocean on the Moon called?

Roughly the same size as Mare Serenitatis, and lying southeast of it, is the Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility). This is the sea where Neil Armstrong performed his giant leap for mankind as he made the first ever human footprint on the lunar surface.

What did China find on the dark side of the moon?

The first rover to visit the far side of the moon, China’s Yutu-2, has found stark differences between there and the near side. These include stickier, more supportive soil on the far side and a greater abundance of small rocks and impact craters.

Why do I see a face on the Moon?

Many of us see a man in the moon — a human face smiling down at us from the lunar surface. The “face,” of course, is just an illusion, shaped by the dark splotches of lunar maria (smooth plains formed from the lava of ancient volcanic eruptions).

What is it called when you can see the outline of the Moon?

This is called the “halo effect,” or a Lunar Halo, and it is caused by light rays diffracting around the moon. Twenty thousand feet above your head are thin wispy cirrus clouds. You may or may not be able to see them, but you will when the light from the moon reflects on those tiny hexagon-shaped ice crystals.

Does every moon have a dark side?

The moon does indeed have a dark side. So does every other moon and planet in the solar system, including Earth. In fact, if you happen to be reading this at night, you are currently on the dark side of Earth.

Are there dark parts of space?

Above the Earth’s atmosphere, outer space dims even further, fading to an inky pitch-black. And yet even there, space isn’t absolutely black. The universe has a suffused feeble glimmer from innumerable distant stars and galaxies.

Has anyone ever seen the dark side of the moon?

Although the Moon is spherical like the Earth, we only see one side of it from down here. For most of human history, no one had ever seen the so-called “dark side of the Moon,” the hemisphere of the Moon that always faces away from Earth.

What is the dark spot in space?

The Great Dark Spot is thought to be a hole in the methane cloud deck of Neptune. The spot was observed at different times with different sizes and shapes. The Great Dark Spot generated large white clouds at or just below the tropopause layer similar to high-altitude cirrus clouds found on Earth.