When we look up at the sky at night, when visible, we see the dull or light gray color of the Moon, darkened with rays and craters about its surface almost like deep oceans and trenches, and at night, we see a yellow tint washed over the surface. We all picture the moon in this way; rocky, bleak, gray/yellow, and rather blandly colored. We don't often ask why this is so; it's all rock anyway, right? So that's why it looks like that? Well, not really. Although it is true that the moon is dusty and rocky, we can't really say we've seen its 'true colors' often. An article found on "www.universetoday.com" titled 'Color of the Moon" describes why we see this as we do, because of light levels, and dispersion of appearance of colors from our atmosphere and telescopes. The truest colors of the Moon, the article explains, are the pictures taken from space of it. The article explains that the moon looks gray because of the various types of minerals on its surface, such as Plagioclase Feldspar, Pyroxene, Calcium, etc.: these make up the most commonly seen light grays and dark grays, and the surface is mainly composed of volcanic material. But there's more to be seen, such as the green Olivines, and hidden colors deep in the "dark" Lunar Marias that look like ocean. Pictured below is a 'true' color photo of the Moon, tweaked with photoshop programs to help bring out the real shades of color. Although it's almost a hobby to point and scream "FAKE!" when we hear the word 'photoshop', this is NOT a fake or made up photograph; photoshop is often used as a beneficial tool to help scientists see hidden details in space photos, this was simply made more vivid and evident through its use.
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Incredible, isn't it? This is what you and I would see if we were able to perceive the waves of the light, unaltered by our atmosphere. As you can see, it is not a dull gray and bland surface by any means, but a colorful and vibrant landscape! Forgive my childish comparison, but to me it looks a lot like melted together skittles...and in a more relevant comparison, a lot like the beautiful "Peacock Ore" otherwise called "Bornite".
A video on YouTube describes one technique in which Jose Escamilla used photos of earths surface in black and white in contrast to those of the moon. Carefully and meticulously learning which dark shades make what color, he was able to decode the actual colors of the Moon. A video describing this in more detail can be found here of his documentary " Moon rising" here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUnzaTNFlJg Please find time to watch this, it is very interesting to learn the methods of colorization, as well as some thought provoking documentary on what may really lie ON the moon regarding other life and what has been obscured. There is simply too much about this topic to fully explain this to the reader, and so I encourage you to research this topic if you find the time to, and maybe have a new found appreciation of the Moon when you look up at it next.
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Cool article. I like the idea of hidden color, it is a good analogy for many things in life. Lots of Feldspars are pink and white, so seeing the pink is cool. Now it brings up the question of what the other planets may be hiding.
ReplyDeleteNot just what the other planets are hiding, but what the entire universe might be hiding. The universe is a much more beautiful place after you look past the darkness and stars we see at night. It's a very colorful place and I would love to be able to see it all in person. If only we could see the true colors of the moon, dust, and stars with our everyday telescopes. After seeing videos of what the Hubble Telescope has let scientists see, I view the night sky so much more differently. This article on the moon is just another great example of the beautiful universe we are lucky to be apart of.
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