A spectral and morphometric analysis of a small lunar dome complex blanketed by ejecta in Euclides-J region

Abstract

This study focuses on a relatively unexplored area located some 33.4 geodetic km away from the central floor of Euclides, in the NE direction, precisely at −6.62° Latitude and −29.89° Longitude. Land-based CCD observations of this area showed a small group of dome-like structures situated on an elevated basaltic platform. One hypothesis is that these features represent a series of mounds made up of a collection of undifferentiated crater materials or ejecta as described by USGS (Geologic Atlas of the Moon. Department of Interior, US Geological Survey—I-458, 1965). This hypothesis is tested against an alternative one in that the area shows the presence of domes that are partly covered by these ejecta. The present spectrometric results place the basalt within the chosen AOI subset in the low-Ti category (1–5 wt% TiO2) and a FeO abundance wt% of between 12 and 14. Spectrometrically, similar dome features have been observed by other investigators near the Milichus/Tobias Mayer regions. A possible classification for this feature would be DW/1a/6h/8j. Details of the cluster analysis used for raster classification is presented as an effective approach to discriminate between different classes of the lunar surface. This approach was used to map the lunar soil geology over the selected showing better lunar geological information than the current mapping information available by USGS. This same approach can be used to effectively map out other regions of the lunar surface.