Why are all moon photos in black and white and yet other planets show color

Published: May 24, 2010

One of the most colorful images taken of the Moon, this NASA compilation shows shades of green and brown in addition to gray.

Photo by NASA

Many Moon photos are actually color images! Unfortunately, unlike the planets, the Moon's surface has no brightly colored areas. Most of its color is a mix of dark browns, grays, or black.

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	Sun	Sun	Moon
RISE	—		—	PHASE	—
SET	—		—	DISK	—

	Mercury	Mercury	Venus	Venus
RISE	—		—
SET	—		—
		—		—

	Mars	Mars	Jupiter	Jupiter	Saturn	Saturn
RISE	—		—		—
SET	—		—		—
		—		—		—