science

Mare Humboldtianum

Mare Humboldtianum is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mare Humboldtianum rather than just read about it. In short: Mare Humboldtianum (Latin humboldtiānum, the "Sea of Alexander von Humboldt") is a lunar mare located just to the east of Mare Frigoris, in the center of Humboldtianum basin. It is located along the northeastern limb of the Moon, and continues on to the far side.

Key takeaways

Mare Humboldtianum belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mare Humboldtianum to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mare Humboldtianum from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mare Humboldtianum (Latin humboldtiānum, the "Sea of Alexander von Humboldt") is a lunar mare located just to the east of Mare Frigoris, in the center of Humboldtianum basin. It is located along the northeastern limb of the Moon, and continues on to the far side. Due to its location, the visibility of this feature can be affected by libration, and on occasion it can be hidden from view from Earth. The basin material is of the Nectarian epoch, with the mare material being of the Upper Imbrian epoch (3.4–3.7 Ga). The lighter gray area to the southeast of the dark mare material is a region of hills within the basin. The rim of this basin forms a mountain range that can be seen under oblique lighting conditions. This mare is centered at 56.9° N, 81.5° E, and its maximal size is 230 km. However the surrounding basin extends for a diameter of over 600 km. The walled plain named Bel'kovich spills over the northwestern portion of Mare Humboldtianum, and the flooded crater Bel'kovich A lies across the southwestern rim of Bel'kovich and part of the floor of the mare. At the center of the Humboldtianum basin is a mascon, or gravitational high. The mascon was first identified by Doppler tracking of the Lunar Prospector spacecraft. This mare is situated between near (visible) and far sides of the Moon, like a link between known and unknown. That's why Johann Mädler named it after Alexander von Humboldt, a prominent explorer of unknown lands. It is one of only two lunar maria that are named after people, the other being Mare Smythii (named after British astronomer William Henry Smyth) which is located along the eastern lunar limb.

Popular culture In an episode of the 1967 TV Series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, a Mysteron outpost was shown to be located somewhere in the Humboldt Sea.

External links Mare Humboldtianum Constellation region of interest, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) article, Posted by Bashar Rizk on June 3, 2010 Map with current names of surface features (archive). Geological Map of the Humboldtianum Basin and its deposits, abstract from the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 2017. Geological Map of the Humboldtianum Basin and its deposits poster, poster presentation from the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 2017.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mare Humboldtianum

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mare Humboldtianum claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mare Humboldtianum before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mare Humboldtianum ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mare Humboldtianum

In research: Mare Humboldtianum appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mare Humboldtianum in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mare Humboldtianum is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Alexander von Humboldt, Imbrian, LQ06 quadrangle, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mare Humboldtianum outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Mare Humboldtianum in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mare Humboldtianum means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mare Humboldtianum out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mare Humboldtianum in simple terms?

Why does Mare Humboldtianum matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mare Humboldtianum?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mare Humboldtianum.