Why did early astronomers name the dark Lunar features maria?
Answer
They mistook them for seas
The term *mare* is Latin for 'sea,' and its application to these dark lunar regions is purely historical. When early astronomers observed these smooth, sprawling patches through their primitive telescopes, the large, dark areas resembled bodies of water or seas on Earth. Despite later confirmation that these features consist only of solidified volcanic rock and contain no liquid water, the descriptive names, such as *Mare Tranquillitatis* (Sea of Tranquility), have been retained as a historical artifact of early astronomical observation.
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