View source for Sinus Roris

{{short description|Moon feature}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2015}}
[[File:Oceanus Procellarum Si Barbero Zetta Ferruggia.jpg|left|thumb|Sinus Roris area (on the top) in selenochromatic format holding some normal (yellow)/pyroclastic(red) selenochromatic landmarks]]
{{Infobox Lunar mare
|name        = Sinus Roris
|image       = [[Image:Sinus-roris-clem1.jpg|300px|Sinus Roris]]
|caption     = 
|coordinates = {{coord|54.0|N|56.6|W|globe:moon_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|diameter    = 202 km
|eponym      = Bay of Dew
}}
'''Sinus Roris''' {{IPAc-en|'|s|aɪ|n|ə|s|_|'|r|oʊr|ᵻ|s}} ([[Latin]] ''sinus rōris'' "Bay of Dew") is a dark, basaltic plain on the near side of the [[Moon]] that forms an extension of the northern edge of [[Oceanus Procellarum]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Moon Nomenclature - Sinus|url=https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/arc/prospector/science/geography_items/sinus.html|access-date=2021-05-07|website=science.ksc.nasa.gov}}{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The [[International Astronomical Union|IAU]]-defined [[selenographic coordinates]] of this bay are 54.0° N, 56.6° W, and the diameter is 202&nbsp;km.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Digital Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon, Database|url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunar_orbiter/bin/srch_nam.shtml?Sinus%20Roris%7C0|access-date=2021-04-25|website=www.lpi.usra.edu}}</ref>

== Characteristics ==
Following traditional nomenclature for the Moon, this feature was named sinus (bay) because of its small size, but it possesses many of the same characteristics as a lunar mare (sea). Like other maria (including Oceanus Procellarum), it is a dark, basaltic area on the near side of the Moon believed to be formed by impact craters that later filled with magma, which then hardened into smooth, dark plains.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Young|first=Kelly|title=The Moon's highlands show their age|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9238-the-moons-highlands-show-their-age/|access-date=2021-04-25|website=New Scientist|language=en-US}}</ref> 

The borders of this feature are somewhat indistinct. The bay proper is framed along the western edge by the craters [[Markov (crater)|Markov]] and [[Oenopides (crater)|Oenopides]], and to the north by [[Babbage (crater)|Babbage]] and [[South (lunar crater)|South]]. At the eastern edge it joins the [[Mare Frigoris]].

Many [[Selenography|selenographers]] have taken liberties with the dimensions of Sinus Roris. Lunar maps often indicate a much larger region for this bay than the official dimensions. These can range out as far as the craters [[Gerard (crater)|Gerard]] and [[Repsold (crater)|Repsold]] to the west, [[Harpalus (crater)|Harpalus]] to the east, and as far south as 44° N [[latitude]], approaching [[Mons Rümker]].

The area where the official coordinates place this bay has a generally higher [[albedo]] than the mare to the south, most likely due to deposits of ejecta from impacts to the north.

Early concepts of a Moon landing promoted by [[Wernher von Braun]] envisaged the establishment of a permanent lunar base in the Sinus Roris region.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/vonander.htm |title=Von Braun Lunar Lander |publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica |access-date=September 5, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150824110143/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/vonander.htm |archive-date=August 24, 2015 }}</ref> These concepts lead, in much modified form, to [[Project Apollo]].

[[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s 1961 novel ''[[A Fall of Moondust]]'' is set in a fictional "Sea of Thirst" located within Sinus Roris.

==See also==
*[[Volcanism on the Moon]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/Lunar/lac_10_lo.pdf USGS lunar map showing Sinus Roris]

{{Lunar maria}}
{{Moon colonization}}

[[Category:Maria on the Moon]]