| Montes Jura | |
|---|---|
 Detail map ofMare Imbrium's features. Montes Jura is the feature marked "B" | |
| Highest point | |
| Listing | Lunar mountains |
| Coordinates | 47°06′N34°00′W / 47.1°N 34.0°W /47.1; -34.0 |
| Geography | |
 | |
| Location | theMoon |
Montes Jura is amountain range in the northwest part of the near side of theMoon. The selenographiccoordinates of this range are 47.1° N 34.0° W. It has a diameter of 422 km, with mountains rising to approximately 3800m[1] above the level ofSinus Iridum. They were named after theJura Mountains in easternFrance / westernSwitzerland.[2]
This range of mountains form a visually pleasing semi-circular ring around theSinus Iridum, a bay along the northwestern edge ofMare Imbrium. The blunt, east-facing cape at the southwestern end of the range is namedPromontorium Heraclides, while the east-facing wedge at the northeast end is calledPromontorium Laplace. As theterminator advances near this range two to three nights after thefirst quarter moon,[3] the peaks of this range catch the sunlight at their tops. This produces a string of bright points that have been described as the 'jeweledscimitar' effect.[4]
Ten to eleven days afternew moon the crater rim is already illuminated by the sun when the moon iswaxing, while the Sinus Iridum is still in shadow. This creates the illusion of ahandle, so that the illuminated crater rim is also calledGolden Handle.
The only crater of note in this range isBianchini, which lies across the north-northwestern portion of the curve. A little farther to the west isSharp, and to the northeast is the ruined craterMaupertuis.
Peter Grego describes a figurine of "The Moon Maiden", seeing her facial profile in Promontorium Heraclides, her hair in the hills to the west, and her body in Montes Jura. She appears upside down when viewed in binoculars from the Northern Hemisphere.[5]
In the distant past this range once formed the outer wall of a crater about 260 km in diameter. The southeast face of this crater was then removed and the interior flooded withbasalticlava. As a result, the side of the range facing the mare ends in the nearly level plains, which the opposite side merges with a region of rough and irregular terrain.
