Fall Writing Frenzy!

I'm participating in the annual #FallWritingFrenzy and I couldn't be more excited. For those of you who don't know, it's a contest hosted by Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez and Lydia Ludikis, with guest judge Ameerah Holliday The limit is 200 words, and the writing is based on a choice of a number of images. (See here for more info and to join in -- Open until Oct. 3!)

Certainly, Fall brings about pumpkins and candy, costumes and sweaters, but it also brings the return to school, friends, discovery, routines... and with that, if we're lucky, comes opportunities to stretch, learn, grow, and create!

So, here we go... My entry:

Credit: Vino Li / Unsplash

MOON COLOR

Alana DeVito

wc: 194

I stare at the black and white paint that Sebastian and I are supposed to share. Ugh.

“Add more black to make a shade,” the art teacher says, “and more white to make a tint.”

But I just want color.

“What’s a tint again?” I whisper, but my blank paper doesn’t tell me. Sebastian’s busy mixing and painting a dark grey sky with a white moon.

I want a rainbow-galaxy-midnight sky. A magenta-sunset-end-of-day sky. A BRIGHT sunny lunchtime sky.

I paint grey on my paper. Blehhh. I close my eyes and fly through the dark sky...

Suddenly I’m surrounded by…

COLOR!

I hop through blue and pink clouds. I swirl them together… purple! This would make a magnificent galaxy!

I bounce onto the bumpy moon and -- it’s not just white! It’s black and grey -- and greenish, orangeish, and blueish, too!

I reach and grab a handful of sparkling white stars. When I rub them onto a dark moon rock, they blend and turn it light blue-grey…

“That’s a tint,” someone whispers.

I float back down to my desk...

“Laney!” Sebastian nudges me. “It’s time to add color!”

Oh, I’m READY!

*****

Did you know that the moon really does have COLOR? And not just the yellow, white, and sometimes (on special nights) reddish color that's reflected by the sun's light and our atmosphere. When astronauts were on the moon, they were surprised to find that some of the moon's landscape -- upclose -- looked blueish, orangish and greenish! This is due to the moon's geology (and it's makeup of different rocks and minerals). Most of the moon's surface is dark grey. But areas that are lacking in iron can have orange tints. Areas that are rich in titanium can have blueish tints. And green tints can be found in areas rich in olivine. A yellow-orange color in the soil, seen by crewmembers of Apollo 17, could be due to volcanic glass beads. (In the 1970s, astronauts found beads of volcanic glass in the moon's soil... from billions of years ago... how amazing it that!?)

Check out this website for more information on the moon's geology and coloration.

And here's an actual discussion between the crewmen of Apollo 17, Commander Eugene Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, and Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, from the ZME Science website linked above:

145:26:04 Parker: And we’re going to want the SEP opened and dusted as well here. With the switches turned off.

145:26:15 Cernan: O-kaay! O-kaay.

145:26:22 Schmitt: Oh, hey! (Very brief pause)

145:26:25 Schmitt: Wait a minute…

145:26:26 Cernan: What?

145:26:27 Schmitt: Where are the reflections? I’ve been fooled once. There is orange soil!!

145:26:32 Cernan: Well, don’t move it until I see it.

145:26:35 Schmitt: (Very excited) It’s all over!! Orange!!!

145:26:38 Cernan: Don’t move it until I see it.

145:26:40 Schmitt: I stirred it up with my feet.

145:26:42 Cernan: (Excited, too) Hey, it is!! I can see it from here!

145:26:44 Schmitt: It’s orange!

145:26:46 Cernan: Wait a minute, let me put my visor up. It’s still orange!

145:26:49 Schmitt: Sure it is! Crazy!

145:26:53 Cernan: Orange!

145:26:54 Schmitt: I’ve got to dig a trench, Houston.

145:27:00 Parker: Copy that. I guess we’d better work fast.

So, the next time you want to draw or paint or color the moon with something other than white... go for it! You have both the scientific and artistic license to do so!