Contains:  Solar system body or event
Earth’s Moon - Aristarchus Crater, Jason Guenzel

Earth’s Moon - Aristarchus Crater

Acquisition type: Lucky imaging
Earth’s Moon - Aristarchus Crater, Jason Guenzel

Earth’s Moon - Aristarchus Crater

Acquisition type: Lucky imaging

Equipment

Loading...

Acquisition details

Loading...

Description

If any area on the Moon deserves the full-saturation treatment, it is this little guy.

This is Aristarchus Crater. It is often quoted to be one of the most geologically diverse locales we can see on the Moon. The colors come from a variety in the minerology and how that reflected light reaches us here on Earth. This just may be most vibrant blue spot of lunar soil we can see.

This area is also home to many reported “transient lunar phenomena” (TLP). These are recorded events of short-lived observational changes (usually brightening or color change). TLP reports stretch back 1,000 years. I read that nearly 1/3 of them come from the Aristarchus plateau we see here. This is sure enough to get the conspiracy theorists buzzing, but is interesting scientifically as well. Local outgassing and/or radioactive decay particles may be partly responsible.

Comments

Histogram

Earth’s Moon - Aristarchus Crater, Jason Guenzel

In these public groups

Cloudy Nights