Infrared studies of the lunar terrain

This paper presents an infrared study of thermal anomalies during the lunar night. From observations of the most intense anomalies at several wavelengths it is deduced that fields of boulders are responsible for the thermal enhancement; the cooling curves of the remainder are consistent with such a model. High resolution Lunar Orbiter photographs of some of the thermal anomalies reveal boulders to be present within them in just the right numbers. The ages and distribution of thermal anomalies are discussed in the light of this model.     

Measurements of the elastic thickness under ancient lunar terrain

The part of a planet's gravity that is coherent with its topography provides information about the deflection of its crust after loading, and hence the resistance of its lithosphere to bending at the time the load was emplaced. We used observed line of sight accelerations from Lunar Prospector, together with the accelerations we would have expected if anomalies in the gravity field were only caused by topography, to estimate the admittance and coherence between topography and gravity over several regions of the lunar nearside. We then compared our estimates to what we would expect if the lithosphere behaved as a floating elastic plate or shell, assuming a linear relationship between topography and gravity. We found in the region surrounding the southern highland crater Clavius that the data can be modeled using a thin plate with Te=12±5 km and uncorrelated loads at the surface and base of the upper crust. A spherical shell model with surface loading is less satisfactory: to fit the admittance adequately requires topography with wavelengths over 400 km to be formed when Te≈ 1 km and the remainder when Te≈7.5 km. By contrast, the apparent lack of compensation around the youngest giant impact basins requires a plate with Te>80 km or a shell with Te>25 km. Our results indicate the thickness of the lunar lithosphere increased from ≈12 km in the pre-Nectarian to >25 km in the Nectarian.     

A new segmentation algorithm for lunar surface terrain based on CCD images

Terrain classification is one of the critical steps used in lunar geomorphologic analysis and landing site selection. Most of the published works have focused on a Digital Elevation Model(DEM) to distinguish different regions of lunar terrain.This paper presents an algorithm that can be applied to lunar CCD images by blocking and clustering according to image features, which can accurately distinguish between lunar highland and lunar mare. The new algorithm, compared with the traditional algorithm, can improve classification accuracy. The new algorithm incorporates two new features and one Tamura texture feature. The new features are generating an enhanced image histogram and modeling the properties of light reflection, which can represent the geological characteristics based on CCD gray level images. These features are applied to identify texture in order to perform image clustering and segmentation by a weighted Euclidean distance to distinguish between lunar mare and lunar highlands.The new algorithm has been tested on Chang'e-1 CCD data and the testing result has been compared with geological data published by the U.S. Geological Survey. The result has shown that the algorithm can effectively distinguish the lunar mare from highlands in CCD images. The overall accuracy of the proposed algorithm is satisfactory, and the Kappa coefficient is 0.802, which is higher than the result of combining the DEM with CCD images.     

The use of the saros in lunar dynamical studies

It is shown that the near-periodicity in the Earth-Moon-Sun system demonstrated by the possibility of using the Saros to predict eclipses, suggests that the Saros can also be used in a fast and accurate method of special perturbations which can be applied for long term study of the evolution of the Moon's orbit.Paper dedicated to Professor Harold C. Urey on the occasion of his 80th birthday on 29 April 1973.     

Infrared studies of X-ray sources

A detailed study of the infrared radiation from galactic X-ray sources indicates that the galactic bulge sources and X-ray binary sources have different infrared emission characteristics. The galactic bulge sources seem to show a power law dependence between the X-ray flux and the infrared flux emitted by the X-ray source. The results presented suggests that the infrared radiation in the galactic bulge sources is dominated by free-free radiation and, in the case of eclipsing binary sources, the black-body emission from the early-type companion star contributes significantly to the infrared radiation.     

Infrared studies at the ice laboratory of Alcoy

At present, there are few laboratory spectra of analogs of astrophysical interest in the far-infrared range (FIR). Laboratory infrared (IR) spectra of simple ices and its mixtures obtained at low temperature and pressure are found mainly up to 25 μm, and few up to 200 μm. On the other hand, there are some spectra for carbonaceous material and silicates up to 2000 μm. Our laboratory is equipped with an IR spectrometer that integrates a Michelson interferometer with a resolution better than 0.25 cm⁻¹ and that operates under vacuum conditions of 10⁻¹ mbar. There is also a silicon bolometer, a very high-sensitivity detector in comparison with the standard deuterated triglycine sulfate (DTGS) detectors. The use of the bolometer and the possibility of working under vacuum conditions inside the optics and the sample compartment of the spectrometer allow obtaining high-sensitivity spectra free from H₂O vapor and CO₂ gas bands. Those conditions are necessary to obtain high-quality spectra in the FIR where absorption bands are much less intense than those in the mid-IR region. In our laboratory there is also a high-vacuum chamber that allows different studies on ices deposited onto a cold finger. We have already carried out experiments on the study of ice density as a function of temperature, UV irradiation of ices, temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and UV-vis reflectance. In this work, we present the design of the experimental setup we are building to carry out different experiments simultaneously on the same ice sample, including spectra measurements in the mid-IR range (MIR) and the FIR. This design integrates jointly the IR spectrometer, the high-vacuum chamber and the silicon bolometer. Lastly, we show a spectrum we have obtained of a solid of astrophysical interest such as crystalline forsterite grains by using the polyethylene pellet technique.     

Synthesis and stability of iron nanoparticles for lunar environment studies

Abstract– Simulants of lunar dust are needed when researching the lunar environment. However, unlike the true lunar dust, today’s simulants do not contain nanophase iron. Two different processes have been developed to fabricate nanophase iron to be used as part of a lunar dust simulant. (1) The first is to sequentially treat a mixture of ferric chloride, fluorinated carbon, and soda lime glass beads at about 300 °C in nitrogen, at room temperature in air, and then at 1050 °C in nitrogen. The product includes glass beads that are gray in color, can be attracted by a magnet, and contains α‐iron nanoparticles (which seem to slowly lose their lattice structure in ambient air during a period of 12 months). This product may have some similarity to the lunar glassy agglutinate, which contains FeO. (2) The second is to heat a mixture of carbon black and a lunar simulant (a mixed metal oxide that includes iron oxide) at 1050 °C in nitrogen. This process simulates lunar dust reactions with the carbon in a micrometeorite at the time of impact. The product contains a chemically modified simulant that can be attracted by a magnet and has a surface layer whose iron concentration increased during the reaction. The iron was found to be α‐iron and Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles, which appear to grow after the fabrication process. This growth became undetectable after 6 months of ambient air storage, but may last for several years or longer.     

Future possibilities for lunar occultation studies of faint X-ray sources

Lunar occultation can be considered of interest for future missions dedicated to X-ray astronomy only if instruments with a large enough collecting area are used. In this case, observations of the numerous, faint X-ray sources occulted by the moon during a typical satellite lifetime of several years, can, in principle, add good source positioning as a free bonus to a high-throughput, medium-imaging mission. In the practical case of the EPIC instrument aboard the XMM ESA satellite, a simple calculation shows the potential usefulness of this technique.     

Photometry of the lunar surface during lunar eclipses

The photometric observations of the lunar surface during lunar eclipses were carried out on four nights between 1972 to 1978, using the 91 cm reflector of the Dodaira Station of the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory. The photometry was performed in B-, V-, and R-colours, and arranged in accordance with the angular distance from the centre of the Earth's shadow. The results do not show any large systematic differences between the four nights, showing no support for Danjon's proposition.     

Infrared and Raman spectra of lunar samples from Apollo 11, 12 and 14

We report the room temperature infrared reflectance spectra of several lunar surface rocks in the form of polished slices or butt ends. The spectra were obtained over the frequency range 20-2000 cm^–1 throughout the mid and far infrared (5-500µ) region of the electromagnetic spectrum where the fundamental internal and lattice vibrational modes of all minerals and rocks occur.Some fines samples were examined as pressed pellets and their reflectivities compared with the bulk samples. Several terrestrial minerals and rocks were also investigated. Kramers-Kronig analyses of these reflectance spectra were undertaken and the dispersion of the dielectric response ( and ) and the optical constants (n andk) have been determined over this frequency range. The low frequency and high frequency (infrared) dielectric constants were also calculated from the reflectance data.Raman light scattering measurements were made on all the samples supplied from the first three Apollo missions. Large background scattering proved to be the greatest experimental problem. Successful spectra in nearly all cases were obtained from small crystalline inclusions imbedded in the main ground mass. Some crystalline bulk rocks containing many very fine inclusions gave identifiable spectra and at least three different types were obtained.Supported by NASA Grant NGR 22-011-069 and by a Northeastern University Grant for Basic Research.     

A high speed photometer in the optical region for lunar occultation studies

High speed photometry during the lunar occultation of a stellar system provides an effective means of achieving high angular resolution in one dimension at the sub arc second level which is well suited for resolving close binary projected separations in the range of 10–100 milliarc seconds. An optical fast photometer designed for such a purpose is described and some results from the initial observations taken with the system including the resolution of a projected separation of 55 milli arcsecond in one binary system are detailed.     

A high speed near infrared photometer for lunar occultation studies

A recently developed near infrared high speed photometer intended for lunar oc-cultation studies is described. The primary scientific objective is to reach milli arc second levels of angular resolution so that circumstellar structure of the occulted sources can be resolved. Near infrared sky brightness close to the lunar limb is also studied. Angular diameter derived from the observed occultation of IRC +20169 is presented and system performance discussed.     

Infrared and submillimetre studies of Vega-excess stars

We report new infrared and submillimetre observations of a sample of 24 candidate Vega-excess stars, and derive CO masses, dust masses, gas to dust ratios and the strengths of various emission lines. Most of these stars have dustier discs than the class archetypes (Vega, Fomalhaut, β Pic, etc.), yet, like the archetypes, all the stars observed in CO show the gas content of their discs to be depleted compared with molecular cloud values. We discuss how the extra dust content might imply that these stars are less evolved than the archetypes, and use other infrared and submillimetre characteristics to support this contention.     

Natural remanent magnetization studies of a layered Breccia Boulder from the lunar highland region

The average directions of natural remanent magnetization (NRM) of three texturally distinct layers (72215, 72255, and 72275) of a 2 m-sized breccia boulder were found to be the same, while the directions of their stable components of NRM were found to be widely divergent. One clast from 72275 yielded a stable NRM direction which was different from that of the matrix. Approximate paleointensity measurements showed that 72255 and 72275 could have obtained their stable remanence from an ancient magnetic field of the same magnitude. However, 72215 probably was magnetized by a magnetic field of a different intensity. We concluded that the coincident NRM directions owe their origin to a secondary imprint of less stable magnetization imparted during the assembly of the boulder at moderate temperatures (～ 450°C) on the South Massif. The stable directions, on the other hand, date from the last, higher-temperature (～ 770°C) magnetizing event experienced by the mineral and lithic components while they were part of the immature pre-Serenitatis regolith.     

Precession of the lunar core

Goldreich (Goldreich, P. [1967]. J. Geophys. Res. 72, 3135) showed that a lunar core of low viscosity would not precess with the mantle. We show that this is also the case for much of lunar history. But when the Moon was close to the Earth, the Moon’s core was forced to follow closely the precessing mantle, in that the rotation axis of the core remained nearly aligned with the symmetry axis of the mantle. The transition from locked to unlocked core precession occurred between 26.0 and 29.0 Earth radii, thus it is likely that the lunar core did not follow the mantle during the Cassini transition. Dwyer and Stevenson (Dwyer, C.A., Stevenson, D.J. [2005]. An Early Nutation-Driven Lunar Dynamo. AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts GP42A-06) suggested that the lunar dynamo needs mechanical stirring to power it. The stirring is caused by the lack of locked precession of the lunar core. So, we do not expect a lunar dynamo powered by mechanical stirring when the Moon was closer to the Earth than 26.0-29.0 Earth radii. A lunar dynamo powered by mechanical stirring might have been strongest near the Cassini transition.     

Formation of the lunar atmosphere

Measurements of⁴⁰Ar and helium made by the Apollo 17 lunar surface mass-spectrometer are used in the synthesis of atmospheric supply and loss mechanisms. The argon data indicate that about 8% of the⁴⁰Ar produced in the Moon due to decay of⁴⁰K is released to the atmosphere and subsequently lost. Variability of the atmospheric abundance of argon requires that the source be localized, probably in an unfractionated, partially molten core. If so, the radiogenic helium released with the argon amounts to 10% of the atmospheric helium supply. The total rate of helium escape from the Moon accounts for only 60% of the solar windα particle influx. This seems to require a nonthermal escape mechanism for trapped solar-wind gases, probably involving weathering of exposed soil grain surfaces by solar wind protons.     

Thermoluminescence of the lunar surface

Observations of the lunar luminescence are reported for a dozen of specific Moon features using the line-depth method with a high resolution spectroscopic technique. The data indicate a variation of the Moon proper emission as a function of the phase angle which is interpreted as a proof of the thermoluminescent origin of this emission.     

Roughness of the lunar soil

In situ measurements at the lunar surface at millimeter resolution by the Apollo astronauts have been analyzed. Several statistical parameters have been determined for the landing site. The surface roughness has been found to be very nearly gaussian. The root-mean-square slopes have been obtained over scales between 0.5 mm and 5 cm. They steadily decrease with increasing scale length from 58° to 2° and are in reasonable agreement with radar-measured values. The autocorrelation coefficient of the height distribution has also been obtained. It has a scale-length of 0.7 mm.Adjunct Professor at the University of Massachusetts.Visiting Scholar at the University of Massachusetts.