Peaky Piton
Explanation:
In some of the speculative paintings of the Moon from
the 1950s and earlier, Mount Piton, Pico
and similar isolated peaks were often depicted as
soaring spires with long shadows. It was the low-angle
shadows that fooled them, for Piton is a stubby little
peak only 2.3 km high with a base about 25 km across.
As Mike’s image shows, Piton has variations in
brightness similar to bands on
the inner walls of impact craters. The dark hues are
probably the space-weathered tone of the mountain, and
the bright bands are fresh material exposed by small
landslides. The surrounding surface of Mare Imbrium is
pockmarked with a number of craters. Some are random
impacts, but the fact that many are in short lines,
pairs or clusters suggests that they may be secondary
craters.
—
Chuck Wood
Technical Details:
Jan 18, 2005. Starmaster 18" + Atik B&W webcam + 5X
barlow, + IR passband filter + Registax 2 + Images
Plus. CAW additionally enhanced the image to preserve
the peak detail while bringing out detail in the mare.
Unfortunately that generated spurious bright and dark
edges for the peak and other bright topography.
Related Links:
Calculating the Height of Piton
