Quote Originally Posted by frannymac
can I show my ignorance and ask what this is?
It's a multicolored wave pattern that can show up on very finely textured areas...

http://www.pbase.com/image/26474508/original

Look at the fence/screen in the window on the left, the wavy colors is moire. It is due to the weaker AA filter (Anti-Aliasing) which increases resolution. Usually AA filters are stronger to help prevent this and smooth out jaggies.