The Moon's Permanently Shadowed Regions

  • Released Wednesday, March 6, 2013
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As you watch the Moon over the course of a month, you'll notice that different features are illuminated by the Sun at different times. However, there are some parts of the Moon that never see sunlight. These areas are called permanently shadowed regions, and they appear dark because unlike on the Earth, the axis of the Moon is nearly perpendicular to the direction of the sun's light. The result is that the bottoms of certain craters are never pointed toward the Sun, with some remaining dark for over two billion years. However, thanks to new data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, we can now see into these dark craters in incredible detail.

Deep in the craters of the Moon's south pole lurk permanently shadowed regions: areas that have not seen sunlight in over two billion years. Now, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is shedding a new light on some of our satellite's darkest mysteries.

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NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

This page was originally published on Wednesday, March 6, 2013.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:52 PM EDT.

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  • LRO's New Looks at the Moon's Permanently-Shadowed Regions (ID: 2013007)
    Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 5:00AM
    Produced by - Brendan Antiochos (NASA)