Blog Post Image: Misleading mineral may have led to overestimate of water in moon

Apatite in lunar rocks. The image is a map of calcium within a polished thin slice of a lunar rock. The high calcium content in apatite is indicated by the bright pinks and reds, while surrounding minerals with lower calcium content are shown in blues and black. Core to rim zoning of water in crystals such as this one demonstrates the presence of the apatite fractionation, an effect responsible for the high water content of lunar apatites on an otherwise dry moon. Image credit: UCLA