Astronomy Picture of the Day
    


The Color of the Moon
<< Yesterday 16.02.2006 Tomorrow >>
The Color of the Moon
Credit & Copyright: Johannes Schedler (Panther Observatory)
Explanation: Earth's Moon is normally seen in subtle shades of grey or yellow. But small color differences have been greatly exaggerated to make this dramatic mosaic image of the Moon's gibbous phase. The familiar Sea of Tranquility (Mare Tranquillitatis) is the blue area right of center. White lines radiate from the crater Tycho at bottom left, while purplish tones mottle the crater Copernicus left of center. Though exaggerated, the different colors are recognized to correspond to real differences in the chemical makeup of the lunar surface - blue hues reveal titanium rich areas while orange and purple colors show regions relatively poor in titanium and iron. Calibrated by rock samples from the Apollo missions, similar multicolor images from spacecraft have been used to explore the Moon's global surface composition.

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
 < February 2006  >
Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su


12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728




Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Based on Astronomy Picture Of the Day

Publications with keywords: Moon - color
Publications with words: Moon - color
See also:
All publications on this topic >>