Rainbow Moon

What does it mean?

This colorized NASA image shows changes in the composition of the Moon's surface.

Bright pinkish areas are highlands materials, such as those surrounding the oval lava-filled Crisium impact basin toward the bottom of the picture. Blue to orange shades indicate volcanic lava flows. To the left of Crisium, the dark blue Mare Tranquillitatis is richer in titanium than the green and orange maria above it. Thin mineral-rich soils associated with relatively recent impacts are represented by light blue colors; the youngest craters have prominent blue rays extending from them.

Via Mother Nature Network

Maggie Koerth-Baker is the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of Before the Lights Go Out, a book about electricity, infrastructure, and the future of energy. You can find Maggie on Twitter and Facebook.

Maggie goes places and talks to people. Find out where she'll be speaking next.

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Anonymous

that’s no moon…
Anonymous

Didn’t Ted Turner do this on an early episode of Family guy?
Thorzdad

So, this is an industrial map showing where to dig for different elements?
Meltron3030

I’m fairly certain that moon is where Fruity Pebbles are harvested from.
Daemon

The moon is so gay. No, really…
Brainspore

I’ve had enough of this astro-vandalism. It’s gotten to the point where you can’t put up a white natural satellite anymore without taggers covering the whole thing with paint.
Michael Smith

Reminds me of Apollo 17 where Harrison Schmitt found orange soil in the rim of a crater. Right after that Ron Evans, the command module pilot started seeing orange crater rims all over the place from orbit.

Nobody had noticed the color before.
TurbineTech

That doesn’t hold a candle to double rainbow moon… Just sayin…
Xeni Jardin

OH MY GOD SO INTENSE
Gulliver

Oooooooohhhhhh!!! :O

You bring us the best pictures, Maggie.
freshacconci

That’s so cool. Maybe we can do this for real. Just think of the night sky.
hassenpfeffer

Rainbow moon following the rediscovered rainbow toad. It’s gotta mean *something*…
Anonymous

I feel a little dumb. I had no idea there was lava on the moon.
hassenpfeffer

Ooops, got my sites crossed; the rainbow toad does not appear to be mentioned on BB, but you can learn about it here: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/07/lost-rainbow-toad-found-after-87-years/
mappo

It’s proof of my theory that the universe is actually a giant bowl of Lucky Charms. Repent, for the milk is near!
anharmyenone

The moon is a harsh mistress.
nemryn

Rainbow Dash x Princess Luna? Sure, I can kinda see how it works.
jphilby

What? No water? Gosh for 20 years all NASA wanted to tell us about was all the water on the Moon. They even spent $78M to make a big, big public splash about all the water (all 200 pounds of it). And now they release a picture with -no- indication of where all the water is?

On the other hand, it’s important to most of us who plant to mine the Moon to know where the titanium is. As soon as we figure out how to squeeze all that water out of the rocks into bathtubs.
Anonymous

Why do I think I hear the faint chant of “Drill Baby Drill!” in the background? :(
Anonymous

“Rainbow Moon”- now I know what to name my first-born boychild. Thanks, Boingboing!
CountZero

I wish it really did look like that. Just beautiful.
Mark Crummett

It’s about time we saw a color picture of the moon!
- Anonymous
  
  Those were color pictures of black and white, remember?
wkiernan

That’s a scone, not the Moon!