February 29, 2020
The Only Pathologist On the Moon
Originally published September 17, 2010
WAC image processed by Richard Evans
Rick Evans, a pathologist in Massachusetts and an active contributor to LPOD, processed two LRO Wide Angle Camera (WC) images showing the floor of Neper, and the 16 km wide Virchow. The elongation of the crater to the north is probably due to its formation on the rim of Neper, which resulted in a huge landslide of material from that area onto the crater floor. The original northern rim of Virchow is in the jumbled mix of slump blocks. The eastern floor contains two to three coarse crevices that probably are in original floor material rather than landslide debris. The southern floor has a little network of sharper troughs that look more recent. An impact on the eastern rim created a crater that elongated as its downslope side slide down. This little crater would probably never have been featured on LPOD had not Rich been attracted to it. Rudolph Ludwig Karl Virchow (1821-1902) was a German doctor and the father of pathology. The German Chancellor challenged Virchow to a duel and Virchow proposed using scalpels if they fought. The Kaiser had throat cancer and a biopsy was done which Virchow diagnosed as benign, and this was repeated several times. Unfortunately, this most famous doctor was wrong each time and the Kaiser died of it.
Chuck Wood
Note: I leave Saturday morning for the European Planetary Science Conference in Rome. I am very pleased that Maurice Collins, with some help from Rick, will produce LPODs through Oct 1 when I return. They will feature more of the WAC images that they have been pioneers in learning how to process, but also welcome other Earth-based images. Thanks, Maurice & Rick!
Technical Note
The elongated crater and the vertical band of lightness near it are both artifacts of processing. The WAC images have many distortions in geometry and brightness that are still being worked on by amateur lunar scientists.
Related Links
Rükl plate 38
Virchow's Mistake
Yesterday's LPOD: Saturday's Moon Maddness
Tomorrow's LPOD: By the Scattered Light of the Moon
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