Let me tell you about Maria...
she definitely doesn't give me the shine that the Sun does, but she is an important feature of myself that you must know about!
The dark and relatively featureless lunar plans which can clearly be seen with your naked eye are called maria (singular mare), Latin for seas, since they were believe by ancient astronomers to be filled with water! pfft...
These are now know to be vast solidified pools of ancient basaltic lava. The majority of these lavas erupted of flowed with impact basics that formed by the collisions of meteors and comets with the lunar surface, Maria are found almost exclusively on the near side me, with the far side having only a few scattered patches covering about 2% of my surface, compared with about 31% on my near side.
The most likely explanation for this difference is related to a higher concentration of heat-producing elements on the near-side hemisphere, as has been demonstrated by geochemical maps obtained from the Lunar Prospector gamma-ray spectrometer, such a long name!
Several provinces containing shield volcanoes and volcanic domes are found within the near side maria.
This song was NOT created after the maria on my surface....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ml3NUIDpFg
About Me
- the Moon
- Solar System, The Universe
- Although some may believe that I am made of cheese... I am in fact, not! I am the Earth's only natural satellite in the solar system. I exist nearly 384,000 kilometers from the Earth. My surface is covered in many interesting geological features from mountains, to valleys, and craters. I have been the subject to many works of art and literature and the inspiration for countless others. I am seen as a motif in the visual arts, the performing arts, poetry, prose and music.