Imaging spectroscopy of the moon: data reduction-analysis techniques and compositional variability of the Mare Serenitatis-Tranquillitatis region

In this paper we present some data concerning the lunar surface, obtained using a 0.4–1.1 μm imaging spectrometer at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalucia 1.5m telescope in the Sierra Nevada Observatory. The data set consists of 16 image cubes (approximately 500,000 spectra) covering different lunar regions. Most of the areas imaged concern zones where red spots have been reported by previous authors (Whitaker, 1972; Bruno et al., 1991). They include Aristarchus plateau, Alphonsus, Gambart and Plato craters; Mare Serenitatis was also observed in order to calculate the spectral reflectance from the raw data. In this work we present the procedures we applied to analyze this set of data and we compare our results with those obtained by means of traditional techniques. In particular, we have studied the Mare Serenitatis-Mare Tranquillitatis region using statistical procedures with the objective of obtaining compositional maps. Using the principal component technique, the different composition of maria and highlands is revealed, and fresh craters against the underlying soil become apparent. A clustering technique allowed us to distinguish six spectrally different areas within the study region.