The dark spots you see on the moon are actually giant, solidified lava fields called maria. These were formed billions of years ago when huge amounts of liquid lava gushed out of the moon's interior and filled large craters after meteorite impacts.

Composition: The fields are mainly composed of basalt, a dark, iron-rich volcanic rock similar to that found on the ocean floor here on Earth.

Volcanic activity: It was long thought that volcanism on the moon died out billions of years ago, but new analyses of lunar samples suggest that there may have been active volcanoes as recently as 120 million years ago.

Lava tubes: Beneath the surface are hollow lava tunnels, or lava tubes. These giant caverns are considered ideal locations for future lunar bases because they protect against radiation and extreme temperatures.

Asymmetry: There are significantly more and larger lava fields on the side of the moon that faces Earth than on the far side, which is because the crust is thinner on the front side.

Worm Moon HDR

Today's full moon, called a worm moon, photographed with a telescope and several images stitched together into one image.

At a full moon, the sun illuminates the lunar surface directly from the front, which hides shadows and makes it more difficult to distinguish topographical details such as craters and mountain walls. The use of HDR photography (High Dynamic Range) and stacking (combining many images) is therefore crucial to highlight geological contrasts and mineral variations that are otherwise lost in the bright light.

Geological details at a full moon

Beam systems: At a full moon, bright beam systems appear most clearly, for example from the crater Copernicus. These consist of material (ejecta) that was thrown out during a meteorite impact.

Albedo and minerals: The contrast between the light, calcium-rich highlands (anorthosite) and the dark, iron-rich oceans (basaltic maria) becomes extremely clear. By saturating the colors in an HDR image (so-called "Mineral Moon"), chemical differences in the soil can be visualized.

Bright Craters: Craters with high albedo, such as Aristarchus, shine brightly and can even be seen with the naked eye.

99% moon and the bird

The full moon is slowly rising in the sky, well, almost full, 99% behind a tree with a blackbird sitting at the top.

Tomorrow, 3/3, a total lunar eclipse will occur. The eclipse will be completely visible over northeastern and northwestern North America and the central Pacific Ocean and will be visible rising over large parts of Asia and Australia and setting over North and South America, unfortunately not from Sweden.