How were the maria of the Moon formed quizlet?

1 – Craters formed when rocks from space collided with the moon. 2 – Maria formed when lava flowed out of the moon, filled large craters, and cooled to solid rock.

When did the maria on the Moon form?

Around 4.1 billion years ago
Lunar Mare Formation Around 4.1 billion years ago, the newly-formed Moon was still cooling after its formation. It formed a thin crust on the outermost surface on top of hot bubbling magma. It was then that the Moon witnessed huge asteroid impacts that cracked the surface, leaving large craters in their wake.

What caused the dark spots on the Moon?

The dark spots on the lunar surface are actually craters of varying sizes that formed due to collisions from celestial bodies, such as comets, meteorites and asteroids in the past, which left large, excavated holes after the impact.

What is the Moon maria made out of?

dark basalts
Geologically, the Lunar surface material has the following characteristics: The Maria are mostly composed of dark basalts, which form from rapid cooling of molten rock from massive lava flows.

How were the maria formed?

Planetary Satellites, Natural The result was the melting and eruption of basaltic lava onto the lunar surface between 3.8 to about 2.8 billion years ago to form the lunar maria. This lava was highly fluid under the weaker gravitational field of the Moon and spread over vast distances.

How were the smooth dark plains called maria formed on the Moon’s surface quizlet?

maria formed when, before the moon’s crust completely solidified, several large bodies struck the surface, making huge craters. molten material from within the moon flooded the crater and congealed to become the smooth, dark law plains of the maria.

How was the maria formed?

What are Maria How were they formed?

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 the dark part of the moon called?

The surface of the Moon is covered in huge dark spots, visible from Earth even with the naked eye. These patches are known as maria – a Latin word meaning ‘seas’.

How were the craters on the Moon formed?

These craters formed when rocks or comets from space smashed into the surface of the Moon. The impact was so powerful that it pulverized the ground – creating what we call regolith – and sprayed it out to form those ejecta rays. You can make craters like those on the Moon using simple baking ingredients!

Which of the following processes created the lunar maria?

The maria were formed by the extrusion of vast amounts of lava that accumulated in the lowlands of large craters or basins and, in places, overflowed and spread over parts of the lunar highlands. The maria are thus relatively young features of the lunar surface, even though they began to form four billion years ago.

Which formation on the Moon is older in age the highlands or the maria?

Compared to geology of the Lunar Highlands: ● Lunar highlands have more impact craters than the mare. So, the highlands are older. They are the same age as the highlands because both features were formed by the hardening of lava. Also, they are mafic in composition, which means they were created by magma.