Hyperwall: LOLA Slope Map

  • Released Wednesday, June 18, 2014
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Part of the LOLA slope map of the Moon centered on the south pole. The prime meridian (0° longitude) is up.

Part of the LOLA slope map of the Moon centered on the south pole. The prime meridian (0° longitude) is up.

This image set is formatted for NASA's hyperwall, a tiled display with a combined resolution of up to 9600 x 3240.

The whorls and impressionistic color palette of this slope map of the Moon are reminiscent of Vincent van Gogh's "The Starry Night," which is one reason it was featured in LRO's The Moon as Art collection. The map is a product of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) laser altimeter (LOLA). It shows the steepness of the lunar terrain, from crater walls and mountainsides (red and white) to flat crater floors (blue and purple).

A visualization of the same part of the Moon in natural color and light reveals that the whorls are the steep sides and rims of craters.

The terrain of the LOLA slope map image, visualized in natural color.

The terrain of the LOLA slope map image, visualized in natural color.

An animated view of sunlight and shadow at the Moon's south pole through a full lunar day.

The area of the slope map image, shown with color-coded elevations.

The area of the slope map image, shown with color-coded elevations.

The slope map color key.

The slope map color key.

The elevation map color key.

The elevation map color key.

For More Information

See http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/lola/feature-20110705.html

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/GSFC/MIT/SVS

This page was originally published on Wednesday, June 18, 2014.
This page was last updated on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 at 12:04 AM EST.

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