Moonscapes
Location: ·
Craters, maria, valleys and mountain ranges on the near side of the Moon.
Sunrise and sunset on the moonscapes
Next 30 days
| Moonscape | Type | Event | Time | Lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computing… | ||||
· ·
- Sunrise / Sunset: at the feature's centre (IAU Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature).
- Lit: the illuminated fraction of the Moon's disc at that moment.
Craters
- AlphonsusRanger 9 crashed onto its floor live on television in 1965 — dark ash patches mark ancient volcanic vents.111 km across
- ArchimedesThe largest crater on Mare Imbrium — flooded by lava, so its smooth floor hides no central peak.81 km across
- AristarchusThe brightest large feature on the Moon — so luminous it even shows in earthshine.40 km across
- AristotelesAn 88-km crater on the shore of Mare Frigoris — half of a northern pair with Eudoxus.88 km across
- ArzachelThe youngest and sharpest of the central meridian trio, with a central peak rising 1.5 km.97 km across
- AtlasThe Titan of a famous northeastern pair with Hercules — rilles and dark ash spots crack its floor.88 km across
- BullialdusA miniature Copernicus in Mare Nubium — terraced walls around a central peak.61 km across
- CassiniA lava-flooded ring at the foot of the lunar Alps, holding two crisp younger craters on its floor.57 km across
- ClaviusOne of the Moon's largest craters — in 2020, NASA's SOFIA detected water in its sunlit soil.231 km across
- CopernicusIts terraced walls drop 3.8 km to the crater floor — striking even in small binoculars.96 km across
- EratosthenesThis crater lends its name to a whole lunar era — the Eratosthenian period, ~3.2 to 1.1 billion years ago.59 km across
- EudoxusSouthern partner of the Aristoteles pair, named for the Greek astronomer who first mapped the constellations.70 km across
- Fra MauroApollo 14's landing region — its hills are ejecta hurled hundreds of kilometers by the Imbrium impact.97 km across
- FracastoriusA crater drowned by Mare Nectaris — its northern wall sank beneath the lava, leaving an open bay.121 km across
- GassendiA fractured-floor crater on the shore of Mare Humorum, criss-crossed by rilles.111 km across
- GrimaldiA basin older than Imbrium whose inky lava floor is the darkest large patch on the nearside.235 km across
- HerculesAtlas's partner — lava-flooded, with a sharp young crater punched into its dark floor.68 km across
- KeplerA young ray crater whose bright spokes cross those of its neighbor Copernicus.29 km across
- LangrenusMichel van Langren named this bright ray crater after himself — the only self-tribute on his 1645 map that survives today.132 km across
- LongomontanusA 145-km walled plain in the rugged southern highlands, named for Tycho Brahe's longtime assistant.145 km across
- MaginusAn ancient 156-km plain that vanishes under high Sun — 'the full moon knows no Maginus', the old saying goes.156 km across
- MessierA bullet-like grazing impact — with its twin it trails a comet-tail of rays across Mare Fecunditatis.14 km across
- PetaviusA giant rille slashes straight across its floor — visible for only a few nights after sunrise.184 km across
- PlatoA lava-flooded crater so dark and smooth that early astronomers took it for a lake.101 km across
- PosidoniusA fractured-floor crater on the rim of Mare Serenitatis, with a snaking rille inside.95 km across
- ProclusOne of the Moon's brightest craters — an oblique impact fanned its rays out to one side only.27 km across
- PtolemaeusLeader of the grand trio of ancient walled plains lining the Moon's central meridian.154 km across
- SchickardA 212-km walled plain whose floor is striped light-dark-light by ejecta from the Orientale basin.212 km across
- SchillerAn elongated crater, 179 by 71 km — likely two ancient impacts merged into one.179 km across
- TheophilusA cluster of central peaks rises from its floor.99 km across
- TychoOnly ~108 million years young — its bright rays stretch more than 1,500 km across the nearside.85 km across
- WargentinThe famous 'plateau crater' — filled with lava to its very rim, like an overfull dish.85 km across
Maria
- Mare CrisiumThe 'Sea of Crises' — an ancient lava plain you can spot with the naked eye.556 km across
- Mare FecunditatisThe 'Sea of Fertility' — Luna 16 landed here in 1970 for the first robotic sample return from another world.840 km across
- Mare FrigorisThe 'Sea of Cold' — a lava strip stretching over 1,400 km along the Moon's north.1,446 km across
- Mare HumorumThe 'Sea of Moisture' — a compact lava-filled basin whose sagging shores cracked into arc-shaped rilles.420 km across
- Mare ImbriumBorn in one of the mightiest impacts of the young solar system, ~3.9 billion years ago.1,146 km across
- Mare NectarisThe 'Sea of Nectar' — its basin impact defines the start of the Nectarian period, ~3.9 billion years ago.339 km across
- Mare NubiumThe 'Sea of Clouds' — an ancient lava plain in a basin so old its original rim has all but vanished.714 km across
- Mare SerenitatisThe 'Sea of Serenity' — Apollo 17, the last crewed mission, landed on its eastern rim.674 km across
- Mare TranquillitatisThe 'Sea of Tranquility' — its basalt carries a faint bluish tint from titanium-rich lava.876 km across
- Mare VaporumThe 'Sea of Vapors' — a small lava plain at the Moon's very heart, hemmed in by rilles.242 km across
- Oceanus ProcellarumThe 'Ocean of Storms' — the only lunar ocean, covering a tenth of the Moon's surface.2,592 km across
- Sinus IridumThe 'Bay of Rainbows' — at sunrise its mountain rim gleams as the famous 'golden handle'.249 km across
- Sinus MediiThe 'Central Bay' — the spot where Earth hangs forever overhead; Surveyor 6 landed here in 1967.287 km across
Mountains
- Mons HadleyA 4.5-km Apennine peak — Apollo 15 landed at its foot and drove the first lunar rover there.26 km across
- Mons PicoPiton's neighbor south of Plato — another surviving summit of the Imbrium basin's buried ring.24 km across
- Mons PitonA lonely 2.3-km island peak in Mare Imbrium — a drowned remnant of the basin's inner ring.23 km across
- Montes AlpesThe lunar Alps — thrown up in minutes by the giant impact that excavated the Imbrium basin.334 km across
- Montes ApenninusA 600-km mountain arc with 5-km peaks — Apollo 15 landed at its foot.600 km across
- Montes CaucasusA rugged 444-km chain with peaks near 6 km, separating Mare Imbrium from Mare Serenitatis.444 km across
Valleys, rilles & scarps
- Rima AriadaeusA 247-km straight graben — a block of crust that dropped between two parallel faults.247 km across
- Rima HyginusA 204-km crack with the pit Hyginus at its elbow — one of the Moon's few craters not born of an impact.204 km across
- Rupes AltaiA 545-km curving cliff — the fossil outer rim of the giant impact that formed the Nectaris basin.545 km across
- Rupes RectaThe 'Straight Wall' — a 116-km fault that appears as a stark shadow line right after sunrise.116 km across
- Vallis AlpesA 155-km gash slicing clean through the lunar Alps, with a slender rille on its floor.155 km across
- Vallis RheitaA 509-km chain of merged craters, gouged in one salvo by ejecta flying out of the Nectaris impact.509 km across
- Vallis SchröteriThe Moon's largest sinuous rille — a collapsed lava channel that begins at a vent nicknamed the 'Cobra Head'.185 km across