
Sinus Lunicus
'Sinus Lunicus' (
latin for "Bay of Lunik") is an area of
lunar mare along the southeast edge of the
Mare Imbrium. It is formed by the area enclosed by the prominent craters
Archimedes to the southwest,
Autolycus to the southeast, and
Aristillus to the northeast. The bay is open to the northwest, and faces the
Montes Spitzbergen, a small chain of mountains.
This bay was named the ''Bay of Lunik'' by the
International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1970 to honor the landing site of the first space probe to make contact with another interplanetary body. The
Luna 2 landed in the gap between the Archimedes and Autolycus craters on
September 14,
1959.
The official
selenographic coordinates of Sinus Lunicus are 31.8° N and 1.4° W, with a diameter of 126
kilometers. The most distinctive features on the bay are the complex outer s of ''ejecta'' from Aristillus and Autolycus craters, and the small satellite craters 'Archimedes C' and 'Archimedes D'. The
albedo of the surface is brightened by overlapping
ray material from Autolycus and Aristillus.