Rotating Moon. Best viewed at 50% speed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNUNB6CMnE8
If you know how to put the above video on continuous loop please tell me.

http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/posts/707

A huge payoff from the longevity of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission (LRO) is the repeat coverage obtained by the LRO Wide Angle Camera (WAC). What to do? Easy – simply take 36 nearly complete global mosaics (110,000 WAC images) and determine an equation that describes how changes in Sun angle and view angle result in reflectance changes. Next step, for each pixel in those 110,000 WAC images compute the solar angle and the viewpoint angle (using the GLD100 to correct for local slopes), and adjust the measured brightness to common angles everywhere on the Moon. For this mosaic the LRO Team used the 643 nm band, a solar angle 10° from vertical (nearly noon), and a viewing angle straight down. Well, perhaps easy is a bit of an exaggeration!

GLD100 is the global topography model from the LRO.

The mare appear as they do because of their high abundance of iron (iron in minerals such as pyroxene, and iron metal as a product of space weathering), and in many areas titanium (in the mineral ilmenite). Both elements are strongly absorbing in visible wavelengths. Crater rays are generally composed of the same materials upon which they rest, but they have not undergone as much space weathering, yielding a reflectance contrast. Space weathering lowers the reflectance over time, so wait long enough and Tycho’s rays will disappear.

More images at http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/posts

Vikram lander found. http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/posts/1131 The Chandrayaan 2 Vikram lander was targeted for a highland smooth plain about 600 kilometers from the south pole; unfortunately the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) lost contact with their lander shortly before the scheduled touchdown (7 September). Despite the loss, getting that close to the surface was an amazing achievement.

I wonder if the idea of putting satellites in orbit of the moon to map mineral/element deposits is doable

Cymek said:

I wonder if the idea of putting satellites in orbit of the moon to map mineral/element deposits is doable

?

There have been several of these including the MRO which produced the data on which this video is based.

dv said:

Cymek said:

I wonder if the idea of putting satellites in orbit of the moon to map mineral/element deposits is doable

?

There have been several of these including the MRO which produced the data on which this video is based.

Detailed enough you could use them for future mining

Cymek said:

dv said:

Cymek said:

I wonder if the idea of putting satellites in orbit of the moon to map mineral/element deposits is doable

?

There have been several of these including the MRO which produced the data on which this video is based.

Detailed enough you could use them for future mining

The LRO has imaged the surface of the moon with a resolution of 50 centimetres per pixel.

What about the Ladies?

The Rev Dodgson said:

What about the Ladies?

Apparently, they must be accompanied by a gentleman.

The Rev Dodgson said:

What about the Ladies?

You spotted it. :-)

It’s a pop culture reference.
“Gentlemen, the Moon” is the title of a picture in a naughty children’s book from the 1960s.

The professor thinks that his rocket has gone into space towards the Moon, whereas the reflection is being used by a person to check out the damage to his posterior.

mollwollfumble said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

What about the Ladies?

You spotted it. :-)

It’s a pop culture reference.
“Gentlemen, the Moon” is the title of a picture in a naughty children’s book from the 1960s.

The professor thinks that his rocket has gone into space towards the Moon, whereas the reflection is being used by a person to check out the damage to his posterior.

This may be the original source of the word “mooning”.

A better moon rotation video from the LRO can be found at https://www.lroc.asu.edu/posts/videos
Also at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oriabKw6anw&feature=youtu.be

What I find most fascinating about that video are the several sets of parallel lines on the far side of the Moon. Reminiscent of Nazca lines and Lowell’s canals on Mars. These rays from craters are missing from just about every previous image of the far side of the Moon. See image below.

Raises stubbie.
To the Moon.

Goodnight you lot!

Peak Warming Man said:

Raises stubbie.
To the Moon.

To the Moon

This is a new screen dump from video for the Far Side. This is very much better than all earlier images. There’s a wealth of detail.

Compare with this earlier image of the exact same area which misses all the crater rays. Both images are from the LRO.