Editing Mare Imbrium (section)

{{short description|Vast lunar mare filling a basin on Earth's Moon}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox Lunar mare
|name        = Mare Imbrium
|image       = Imbrium location.jpg
|caption     = A map showing the location of Mare Imbrium
|eponym      = Sea of Showers or Sea of Rains
|coordinates = {{coord|32.8|N|15.6|W|globe:moon_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|diameter    = {{convert|1146|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name=USGS>{{gpn|3678}}</ref>
}}

[[File:Mare Imbrium (LRO).png|thumb|right|[[Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter|LRO]] mosaic of Mare Imbrium]]
[[File:Imbrium map.png|thumb|right|Detail map of Imbrium's features]]
[[File:Sunrise over Mare Imbrium.png|thumb|Mare Imbrium from Earth, imaged with an 8" untracked Dobsonian. The left panel emphasizes wrinkle ridges, craters, and mountain rings with the terminator closer. The right panel highlights albedo patterns and ray markings under a higher sun.]]
[[File:A17PSR-Fig4-63 AS17-155-23714-16.jpg|thumb|right|Detail of basaltic lava flow fronts within Mare Imbrium, located north of [[Euler (crater)|Euler]] crater. (Mosaic of [[Apollo 17]] images.)]]
'''Mare Imbrium''' {{IPAc-en|'|ɪ|m|b|r|i|ə|m}} ([[Latin]] ''imbrium'', the "'''Sea of Showers'''" or "'''Sea of Rains'''") is a vast [[lunar mare|lava plain]] within the Imbrium Basin on the [[Moon]] and is one of the [[larger craters in the Solar System]]. The Imbrium Basin formed from the collision of a [[Protoplanet|proto-planet]] during the [[Late Heavy Bombardment]]. Basaltic [[lava]] later flooded the giant [[Impact crater|crater]] to form the flat volcanic plain seen today. The basin's age has been estimated using [[Uranium–lead dating|uranium–lead dating methods]] to approximately 3.9 billion years ago, and the diameter of the impactor has been estimated to be 250 ± 25&nbsp;km.<ref>P. H. Schultz & D.A. Crawford, ''Origin and implications of non-radial Imbrium Sculpture on the Moon'', Nature '''535''', 391–394 (2016)</ref> The Moon's maria (plural of [[Lunar mare|mare]]) have fewer features than other areas of the Moon because molten lava pooled in the craters and formed a relatively smooth surface. Mare Imbrium is not as flat as it would have originally been when it first formed as a result of later events that have altered its surface.