The Lyman Alpha Mapping Project has detected five discrete low‐albedo anomalies in Lyman‐α (Ly‐α; 121.6 nm) nighttime reflectance maps. These anomalies reside on the nearside of the Moon within the southeastern Oceanus Procellarum and northwestern Mare Nubium, coincident with regions that have been observed to be photometrically anomalous at visible wavelengths. Some of the spectral properties of these regions within near ultraviolet (NUV) to visible (VIS) wavelengths are consistent with lunar swirls, and they have been reported as “probable swirls” in at least one of these studies. However, while these regions have low Ly‐α normal albedo values relative to nearby highlands regions and are consistent with Ly‐α albedo observations of other swirls, they do not spectrally redden at wavelengths >160 nm as other swirls have been shown to do and they are not associated with regions of higher magnetic intensity. Interestingly, while these anomalies are not easily discerned in NUV single‐band images, the anomalies can be discerned in NUV color ratio composites of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera Wide‐Angle Camera. At least one anomaly observed in the far ultraviolet is not easily observed in the NUV. Additional analyses of their thermal emission Christiansen Feature values, empirically corrected for maturity, suggest that regolith maturity is what differentiates them from their surroundings. While these anomalies may not be swirls, they may represent an “endmember” to swirls minus the influence magnetic materials, which have been hypothesized to provide solar wind shielding. If true, they may provide additional insight into the generation of lunar swirls.
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