Photo Agency - Astronomy - Space - Nature

> South pole of the Moon.

South pole of the Moon.

author: USGS/Novapix

reference: a-lun05-01010

Image Size 300 DPI: 50 * 50 cm

This mosaic is composed of 1500 Clementine images, taken through a red filter, of the south polar region of the Moon. The top half of the mosaic faces Earth. Clementine has revealed what appears to be a major depression near the lunar south pole (center), evident from the presence of extensive shadows around the pole. This depression probably is an ancient basin formed by the impact of an asteroid or comet. A significant portion of the dark area near the pole may be in permanent shadow, and sufficiently cold to trap water of cometary origin in the form of ice.

Keywords for this photo:

1994 - ASTRONOMY - BLACK AND WHITE - CLEMENTINE - ICE - MOON - POLE - POSTER - SATELLITE - SOUTH POLE - WATER -