january: copernicus digitised terrain

The crater Copernicus is one of the most carefully studied parts of the Moon. In this image, stereo photographs takes by the 1967 Lunar Orbiter V mission have been used to build a digital terrain model which has then been combined with a false colour system. The colours represent spectrographic analysis of the area and illustrate the mineral composition of the lunar surface. It is easy to see that the crater has many different rock types in a complex geological structure.

Image: NASA, Lunar and Planetary Institute.