What is Lunar mare?
[[File:Full_Moon_Luc_Viatour.jpg|thumb|the darker areas in the picture are called Maria]] [[File:Moon names.svg|thumb|Nearside of the moon with with major maria and craters labeled]] '''Mare''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɑr|eɪ}};<ref>''The American Heritage Science Dictionary,'' 2005.<br />[[Traditional English pronunciation of Latin|Classical pronunciations]] are pl. {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɛər|i|ə}} and sg. {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɛər|iː}}. In the singular, the compromise pronunciation {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɑr|iː}} is commonly heard. {{Lexico|mare}}</ref> plural: '''maria''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɑr|i|ə}}) is the name for a great plain on the [[Moon]]. Several such maria exist. They were formed by ancient impacts and [[Volcano|volcanic]] eruptions. Because of their high amount of iron, they [[Albedo|reflect]] less light than the highlands of the Moon, causing them to appear dark to the naked eye. They are called sea Because ancient [[astronomer]]s looked at the Moon and thought they saw seas and oceans, they named those dark areas maria, the Latin word for seas. The maria cover about 16% of the surface of the Moon and most of them are on the side of the moon which is [[Near side of the Moon|visible from Earth]]. A lunar mare, [[Mare Tranquillitatis]] was the landing site for the first manned landing on the Moon on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 [[UTC]]. Apollo 11 landed at {{coord|00.67408|N|23.47297|E|globe:moon_type:landmark|display=inline|name=Apollo 11 landing site}} .<ref>{{cite web|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/landing-missions/apollo11-landing-site.cfm|title=Apollo 11 Landing Site|publisher=Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum|access-date=October 12, 2017|archive-date=December 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223234921/https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/landing-missions/apollo11-landing-site.cfm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunar_sites.html Accessed October 12th, 2017</ref> ==References== {{reflist}