Mare Desiderii

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Mare Desiderii
Luna 3 moon.jpg
Luna 3 image of the far side
Coordinates33°42′S 163°30′E / 33.7°S 163.5°E / -33.7; 163.5Coordinates: 33°42′S 163°30′E / 33.7°S 163.5°E / -33.7; 163.5
EponymSea of Dreams
A stamp from the Soviet Union showing a map based on the Luna 3 images.

Mare Desiderii /dɛsɪˈdɪəriaɪ/ (Latin dēsīderiī, the "Sea of Dreams") was an area of the Moon named after Luna 3 returned the first pictures of the far side in 1959.[1] This name is derived from the Russian Море Мечты, Mechta ("Dream") being the original name for the Luna 1 spacecraft.

It was later determined to be an optical illusion in the low quality image. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) removed the name from the list of lunar nomenclature in 1960.[2] Instead this area includes a smaller mare, Mare Ingenii (Sea of Ingenuity or Cleverness), and other dark craters.[3]

The naming of this and other features by the Soviet Union was considered controversial at the time. The newly named places on Soviet lunar maps were perceived as an extension of Soviet territory.[2] The IAU was then given the responsibility for naming newly discovered features.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ Wilkinson, John (26 October 2010). "The Far Side of the Moon". Geological History of the Moon. Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 69–104. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-14805-7_3. ISBN 978-3-642-14804-0.
  2. ^ a b Iina Kohonen (1 July 2017). Picturing the Cosmos: A Visual History of Early Soviet Space Endeavor. Intellect Books. ISBN 978-1-78320-744-2. OCLC 1013591364.
  3. ^ "Luna 3". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA. n.d. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  4. ^ "World glimpses far side of the Moon". On This Day. BBC. 26 October 1959. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  • Stooke, Philip J. (2007). The International Atlas of Lunar Exploration. Cambridge University Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-521-81930-5.
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