Sinus iridum
| Sinus iridum | ||
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| Sinus iridum. Cape Laplace can be seen at the top right, Cape Heraclides at the bottom left. Photo by Ole Nielsen | ||
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| position | 45.01 ° N , 31.67 ° W | |
| diameter | 249 km | |
| See also Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | ||
The Sinus Iridum (German: Rainbow Bay; incorrectly also "Sinus Iridium") is a bulge of the Mare Imbrium , a low plain on the earth-facing side of the Earth's moon .
The Marebucht is located southwest of the Montes Jura (Jura Mountains), which separates it from the Terra Terrain south of the Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold). The Montes Jura were raised by the impact that created the basin of the Sinus Iridum. The diameter of the basalt bay is 236 km. It is framed at the ends of the Montes Jura by the Promontorium Heraclides (Cape Heraclides) in the southwest and the Promontorium Laplace (Cape Laplace) in the northeast.
Due to the lack of the south-eastern crater rim of the impact crater filled by the Sinus Iridum, speculations arose as to the order in which or in what connection it arose with the basin of the Mare Imbrium. A thesis by Harold C. Urey explained the two structures in the middle of the 20th century by stating that the location of the Sinus Iridum was the actual point of impact of the asteroid , but that it hit at an extremely oblique angle and formed the basin of the Mare Imbrium through an explosion .
But this thesis is wrong. The pelvis of the Sinus Iridum arose after that of the Mare Imbrium. In a later process, both impact basins were filled with basalt through magma rising from cracks in the floor . The missing south-eastern edge is likely to have collapsed due to geological weakening and then covered by basalts.
The name was given by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Riccioli (1598–1671) and was officially established in 1935 by the International Astronomical Union .
The Marebucht was the announced target of the Chinese space probe Chang'e-3 . They landed on December 14, 2013 east of the bay in Mare Imbrium, but still within the planned landing area.
Ten to eleven days after the new moon, the rim of the crater is already illuminated by the sun when the moon is waxing, while the lowlands are still in shadow. This creates the illusion of a handle , so that the illuminated rim of the crater is also called the golden handle .
Web links
- SkyTrip.de: Sinus Iridum
- Sinus Iridum in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature of the IAU (WGPSN) / USGS
- Sinus Iridum on The-Moon Wiki * Sliced crater lunar photo of the day, January 3, 2010
- Sinus Iridum , on Google Moon
- Spektrum.de: Amateur recordings [1] [2] , [3] , [4]
Individual evidence
- ↑ Chen Lan: RC Exploration. One small step for Yutu - one giant leap for China. Historic moon landing of Chang'e 3 ( Memento of the original from April 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; on Raumfahrt-concret.de
