Mare Australe (Moon)
Data as of 2026-10-23
What it is
- Type
- Mare, maria
- IAU definition
“Sea”; on the Moon, low albedo, relatively smooth plain, generally of large extent; on Mars, dark albedo areas of no known geological significance; on Titan, large expanses of dark materials thought to be liquid hydrocarbons
- Diameter
- 996.8 km, 57 % of the radius of its body
- Centre
- 47.77° S, 91.99° east (planetocentric latitude, east longitude from 0 to 360°, the IAU convention)
- Name adopted
- 1935
- Origin of the name
"Southern Sea."
Quoted in English, as the IAU publishes it.
In Galaxy
Opens its body in the application, the camera turned towards Mare Australe.
Observed by
Instruments whose footprint touches this formation, counted by the PDS Orbital Data Explorer (data frozen on September 29, 2026). A footprint that touches it is not a study of it.
| Mission and instrument | Products | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lunar Orbiter · 24 Inch Focal Length Camera | 34 | May 11, 1967 | May 25, 1967 |
| Clementine · Ultraviolet/Visible Camera | 10,781 | February 20, 1994 | May 2, 1994 |
| Clementine · High Resolution Camera | 10,008 | February 20, 1994 | May 2, 1994 |
| Clementine · Near Infrared Camera | 7,090 | February 20, 1994 | May 2, 1994 |
| Clementine · Long Wavelength Infrared Camera | 5,128 | February 20, 1994 | May 2, 1994 |
| Clementine · B-STAR | 6 | April 6, 1994 | April 6, 1994 |
| Clementine · Radio Science Subsystem | 59 | April 9, 1994 | April 9, 1994 |
| Arecibo Observatory/National Radio Astronomy Observatory · Earth-based Arecibo Radio Telescope/Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope | 93 | October 19, 2003 | June 29, 2008 |
| JAXA SELENE/KAGUYA Main Orbiter · High Definition Television | 52,365 | November 14, 2007 | May 28, 2009 |
| JAXA SELENE/KAGUYA Main Orbiter · Terrain Camera | 17,560 | November 29, 2007 | June 3, 2009 |
| JAXA SELENE/KAGUYA Main Orbiter · Lunar Radar Sounder | 3,335 | December 23, 2007 | September 10, 2008 |
| JAXA SELENE/KAGUYA Main Orbiter · Laser Altimeter | 55 | January 7, 2008 | October 20, 2008 |
| JAXA SELENE/KAGUYA Main Orbiter · Multiband Imager | 22,324 | January 19, 2008 | October 8, 2008 |
| ISRO's Chandrayaan-1 · Moon Mineralogy Mapper | 101 | January 3, 2009 | June 27, 2009 |
| Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter · Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera | 98,925 | July 4, 2009 | June 15, 2026 |
| Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter · DIVINER Lunar Radiometer Experiment | 36,529 | July 5, 2009 | June 15, 2026 |
| Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter · Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter | 7,638 | July 13, 2009 | October 23, 2018 |
| Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter · MINI-RF LRO | 866 | November 7, 2009 | August 11, 2023 |
| Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter · Shadow Camera | 404 | February 12, 2023 | September 20, 2024 |
Sources
International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, read on October 23, 2026. Feature page: https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3665
Type definitions: IAU Descriptor Terms, read on October 17, 2026. https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms