[4] Bullialdus crater, a prominent feature on the west side of the mare, is of Eratosthenian age.

Opelt, Gould, Kies, Nicollet, Wolf, Birt, and Rupes Recta (the Straight Wall) lie within the mare.

Like most of the other maria on the Moon, Mare Nubium was named by Giovanni Riccioli, whose 1651 nomenclature system has become standardized.

[6] Previously, William Gilbert had included it among the Continens Meridionalis ("Southern Continent") in his map of c.1600,[7] and Michael van Langren had labelled it the Mare Borbonicum (after the House of Bourbon) in his 1645 map.

[9] In September 2013, Spanish astronomers observed and recorded an impact event when a large rock hit the lunar surface in Mare Nubium.