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Adjoining Proclus on the east and south is a curious, lozenge-shaped flat, broken with short, low ridges, and possessing a most peculiar light-brown tint, easily distinguished from the general color tone of the lunar landscapes. It would be interesting to know what was passing in the mind of the old astronomer who named this singular region Palus Somnii.
For example, the Mare Imbrium and the Mare Frigoris appear under certain conditions to be of a dirty yellow-green hue, the central parts of the Mare Humorum dusky green, and part of the Mare Serenitatis and the Mare Crisium light green, while the Palus Somnii has been noted a golden-brown yellow.
But this was another question that could not be answered at present. Further on he could detect here and there traces of a decidedly ruddy tint. Such a shade he knew had been already detected in the Palus Somnii, near Mare Crisium, and in the circular area of Lichtenberg, near the Hercynian Mountains, on the eastern edge of the Moon. To what cause was this tint to be attributed?
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