14th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Altered Images
The Colorfull Moon

The Moon appears whitish with its grey formations to the naked eye. But the fact is that the Moon is not monochromatic. It has colors, and those colors can be enhanced with some digital processing of the image. The colors of the Moon are the result of iron and titanium content on its surface. The lunar mares (darker areas to the naked eye) contain a lot of iron oxide (FeO2), hence they are darker and brownish. And some mares contain, in addition to FeO2, titanium oxide (TiO2), making those areas still darker and with a bluer color.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 03.2016
Date Uploaded: 11.2016
Photo Location: Curitiba, Brazil
Copyright: © Fabiano Diniz