Maria vs. Highlands The side facing the earth consists of dark (basaltic) lava filled basins called mare (maria) or seas. The lighter areas are heavily impacted terrain called the highlands.
What’s the difference between the maria and the highlands?
The Maria are mostly composed of dark basalts, which form from rapid cooling of molten rock from massive lava flows. The Highlands rocks are largely Anorthosite, which is a kind of igneous rock that forms when lava cools more slowly than in the case of basalts.
How are the Moon’s highlands and maria different?
The highlands are heavily cratered and mountainous. We have learned that the maria are relatively young areas on the Moon which were generated after very large impacts penetrated the crust of our Moon and excavated basins. During later volcanic episodes, liquid magma came to the surface and filled these basins.
Is the maria or highlands older?
Compared to geology of the Lunar Highlands: ● Lunar highlands have more impact craters than the mare. So, the highlands are older.
What are the highlands on moon surface?
Most of the crust of the Moon (83%) consists of silicate rocks called anorthosites; these regions are known as the lunar highlands. They are made of relatively low-density rock that solidified on the cooling Moon like slag floating on the top of a smelter.
How did the maria form?
The maria basins were formed beginning about 3.9 billion years ago during a period of intense bombardment by asteroid-sized bodies. This was well after the lunar crust had cooled and solidified enough, following the Moon’s formation, to retain large impact scars.
What is a maria in science?
The lunar maria (or plains), which were formed between 3.1 and 3.9 billion years ago, are the youngest geologic units on the lunar surface, except for more recent impact craters. The release of heat from large impacts caused extensive melting and extrusion of basaltic lavas on the moon.
What are the main differences between the Moon’s highlands and the maria quizlet?
The lava poured out and hardened over. How do maria differ from highlands. Maria are darker, less cratered, smoother, younger, higher in iron, and generally lower in elevation than the highlands. You just studied 11 terms!
Why is the Moon called maria?
Observation of the Moon: Lunar Maria
Visually or in small binoculars, the lunar maria [ˈmaːriə’] (singular: mare [ˈmaːre’]) are large, dark plains on the surface of Moon. They were called maria, Latin for “seas”, by early astronomers who were thinking they really contain the water.
What is the main visual difference between the lunar highlands and the lunar maria What are the implications of this observation?
What is the main visual difference between the lunar highlands and the lunar maria? What are the implications of this observation? The lunar highlands are very heavily cratered and the lunar maria are generally smooth. (More specifically, the maria contain only 3 percent as many craters per unit area as the highlands.)
What is the age of the highlands?
Most highland samples have ages in the range 3.8–4.3 billion years. The radiometric ages of the ejecta blankets from the large collisions tend to cluster around 3.9 billion years, with the dates for the Imbrium collision being 3.85 billion years and that for Nectaris, 3.90 or 3.92 billion years.
How do we know that the maria were formed after the lunar highlands?
Scientists can tell this happened recently, in geological terms, because the maria have fewer impact craters than the highland areas.
Does Mars have highlands?
Introduction. The cratered highlands of Mars include extensive ancient terrains that formed during the Noachian Period (~4.1 to ~3.7 Ga; ages herein based on Neukum chronology1).
How are highlands formed?
The chain of volcanic islands collided with the Grampian Highlands about 480–460 million years ago. This is called the Grampian Event. Baltica collided with the Northern Highlands about 440 million years ago, pushing together the Northern Highlands and North-west Seaboard. This is called the Scandian Event.
What are the 3 surfaces of the Moon?
While the craters, highlands and maria are the moon’s three main landforms, the moon’s surface has a number of other highly visible features. For example, some impact craters have bright rays that shoot outward from the center. Also, the moon has a number of rilles, which are long, thin tunnels or trenches.
What color are lunar highlands?
red
Areas appearing red generally correspond to the lunar highlands, while blue to orange shades indicate the ancient volcanic lava flow of a mare, or lunar sea.
What are the maria and where did they come from?
The lunar maria (/ˈmɑːriə/; singular: mare /ˈmɑːreɪ/) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth’s Moon, formed by ancient asteroid impacts on the far side on the Moon that triggered volcanic activity on the opposite (near) side.
How much maria is on the Moon?
about 16%
The Moon’s maria cover about 16% of its surface, with the majority found on the Moon’s Earth-facing side.
What is true of the lunar highlands?
What is true of the lunar highlands? They are the oldest part of the lunar surface. they range from 4.6 – 4.4 billion years old, on average. the Moon lacks wind, water and an atmosphere.
What word is maria?
Maria 2. [ muh-ree-uh, -rahy-uh; Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish mah-ree-ah ] SHOW IPA. / məˈri ə, -ˈraɪ ə; Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish mɑˈri ɑ / PHONETIC RESPELLING. noun. a female given name, form of Mary.
What is the difference between maria and Terrae?
Maria is the plural, seas (pronounced Mah-ree-a). While we see much of this when viewed from earth, only 17% of the lunar surface is classed as maria. These were mistaken by early astronomers for seas and are also known as the lowlands. Terrae is the collective name for highlands.