Albedo, Color and the Interesting Case of Lunar Sample 12047,6
One thing that I have learned here at Moon Zoo as a full member-
newbie is that when considering the lunar landscape what is dark
may not be black and what is light may not be white. A case in
point is this photograph that stumped me shortly upon arrival at
Moon Zoo. Luckily, Forum moderator Thomas J introduced me to a
term called albedo. He said: “There are a number of reasons for
this change in shade. The reflectivity of the surface material
is known as its albedo; material that is highly reflective will
have a higher albedo than that which is not as reflective. In
some situations certain areas may display high albedo material
due to geological activity such as impact effects, volcanic
effects and even Moon quakes. It is, therefore, not uncommon to
see two contrasting shades in adjacent regions. Also, the Moon’s
surface is not flat, the topography rises and falls with slopes,
hills and mountains. When the Sun is low in the sky a slight
slope down