Moonrise over the Temple of Poseidon
July 25, 2013
Photographer: Stavros Hios; Stavros's Web site
Summary Authors: Stavros Hios; Jim Foster
The photo above captures the full Moon rising over the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, Greece. The Moon appears to be made out of the same rock as the marble temple itself. When compared to marble the basaltic lava of the lunar surface is a darker material. Even though the Moon looks quite bright, especially when it's high in the sky, its albedo is low. Only about 12 percent of the sunlight that illuminates the Moon is reflected -- nearly the same as old asphalt. Nonetheless, its regolith is about as bright as other planetary bodies without an atmosphere. Photo taken on May 25, 2013.