A Celestial Trinity

APOD 2.3

A Colorful Side of the Moon
2011 November 18

Pink Floyd was right to assume that "the dark side of the moon" could be colorful! Every month the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter uses its wide angle lens to capture the moon's surface that is not visible from Earth, then it uses stereo overlap to provide information regarding lunar topography. The process might seem redundant but each month the lighting on the moon changes; therefore we can methodically build up data on how different rocks react under different lighting conditions. The image displayed below should show the range of elevations portrayed with this false coloring, from highest elevation to lowest: white, red, green, and purple.

As you can see there is a large depression in the moon's surface near its southern pole, this is the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin. The basin reveals the moon's deepest minerals including its rich deposits for iron. If the moon holds minerals, it would be in our best interest to fund space programs and more shuttle missions.