October 21, 2011

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Unsubtle Hues

LPOD-Oct21-11.jpg
image by Francisco José Fernández Gómez

The Moon has very subtle colors, but we don't have to display them that way. Francisco used hard enhancing of the his three color image to display variations in the Moon's composition. The main difference is between the iron-poor highlands in pinkish-red and the iron-rich, bluish mare lavas. The fact that not all mare lavas are the same is obvious - look at the orange colors in eastern Imbrium, Sinus Iridum, part of the floor of Plato, and Mare Frigoris. These orange lavas have less titanium than the bluer ones in western Imbrium, Procellarum, Tranquilitatis and other places. It is remarkable that amateurs can capture images that dramatically demonstrate one of the most salient facts of lunar chemistry.

Chuck Wood

Technical Details
LX90 - Meade 2000 X F = 0.63 D = 203 mm. Camera: DSI III with rgb filters.

Yesterday's LPOD: Skimming the Limb

Tomorrow's LPOD: Serenitatis "Hollows"



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