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Lunar Topography in False Color
This animation is a brief tour of several prominent features of the Moon's terrain: Tycho crater, the south pole, and the South Pole-Aitken basin. The height of the terrain is color-coded, with blues and greens representing low altitudes and reds representing high altitudes. The view is match-moved to a companion piece showing the Moon in natural colors.

The elevation map comprises low-resolution data from a number of sources, including the Clementine and JAXA/SELENE spacecraft, combined with high-resolution insets for Tycho and the region near the south pole. One of the goals of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission is the creation of a high-resolution elevation map of the entire surface of the Moon.


Moon false color topo flyover    Moon false color topo flyover
Duration: 1.7 minutes
Available formats:
  512x288 (30 fps) MPEG-1   16 MB
  1280x720 (30 fps) MPEG-2   46 MB
  1280x720 (30 fps) MPEG-4   9 MB
  1280x720 (30 fps) Frames
  320x180     PNG           138 KB
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Elevation key 		   Elevation key

Available formats:
  320 x 90           PNG         7 KB


Tycho crater and its bright ejecta rays are among the youngest and most recognizable features on the Moon. The crater is 85 kilometers (50 miles) wide and 4700 meters (15,400 feet) deep. The central peak is 2400 meters (7900 feet) above the crater floor.    Tycho crater and its bright ejecta rays are among the youngest and most recognizable features on the Moon. The crater is 85 kilometers (50 miles) wide and 4700 meters (15,400 feet) deep. The central peak is 2400 meters (7900 feet) above the crater floor.

Available formats:
  2560 x 1440     TIFF 2 MB
  320 x 180         PNG     268 KB


The floors of deep craters near the poles, including bowl-shaped Shackleton near the center of this view of the south pole, are in permanent shadow and therefore cold and dark enough to harbor potential deposits of water ice.    The floors of deep craters near the poles, including bowl-shaped Shackleton near the center of this view of the south pole, are in permanent shadow and therefore cold and dark enough to harbor potential deposits of water ice.

Available formats:
  2560 x 1440     TIFF 2 MB
  320 x 180         PNG     281 KB


The South Pole-Aitken basin, roughly 2100 kilometers (1300 miles) wide and 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep, is perhaps the largest impact feature in the solar system. It lies on the far side of the Moon, the hemisphere never visible from Earth, and was found only after spacecraft began visiting the Moon in the 1960s.    The South Pole-Aitken basin, roughly 2100 kilometers (1300 miles) wide and 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep, is perhaps the largest impact feature in the solar system. It lies on the far side of the Moon, the hemisphere never visible from Earth, and was found only after spacecraft began visiting the Moon in the 1960s.

Available formats:
  2560 x 1440     TIFF 3 MB
  320 x 180         PNG     208 KB
  160 x 80           PNG       50 KB
  80 x 40             PNG       13 KB

Animation Number:3582
Completed:2009-03-31
Animators:Ernie Wright (UMBC) (Lead)
 Marte Newcombe (GST)
Producer:Andrew Freeberg (NASA/GSFC)
Scientist:James Garvin (NASA/GSFC)
Platforms/Sensors/Data Sets:KAGUYA/Laser Altimeter (LALT)/DEM (2007-12-30 to 2008-03-31)
 Tycho DEM (1998)
 Unified Lunar Control Network 2005 (1970 to 2005)
Series:The Moon
 LRO Pre-launch
Goddard TV Tape:G2009-030 -- LRO Pre-Launch Resource Tape
Keywords:
SVS >> Elevation data
SVS >> False Color
SVS >> HDTV
SVS >> Moon
SVS >> South Pole
SVS >> Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter
More Information on this topic available at:
http://www.nasa.gov/lro
 
 
Please give credit for this item to
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio. Some elevation data provided by JAXA/SELENE.


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