NASA Creates Best Topographical Map of the World Yet

Via New Scientist, the most detailed and complete topographical map of the world ever produced has been created with data from NASA's Terra satellite.



Says NS:

The map incorporates more than 1 million digital images and covers 99 per cent of the globe, a substantial increase over previous maps, which surveyed just 80 per cent of the planet. The new map covers latitudes between 83° north and 83° south, resolving patches of land as narrow as 30 metres across – three times the resolution of the next best digital topographical map, which was made by the space shuttle Endeavour during an 11-day mission in 2000.

According to the LA Times' L.A. Now blog, "the resolution is so clear that you can plainly see Dodger Stadium and other landmarks in pictures of Los Angeles," viz. this one:



And, via The Daily Mail, which has several large images, here's Europe:



The full data set is online and available for free.

Water on the Moon? Eh, Not So Much

Another astro-map from Universe Today. This one's of the moon:



It's a topographical map, recently put together with data from Japan's Kaguya satellite. It shows the crests and dales of the moon's surface, from the Dirichlet-Jackson Basin near the equator (11 km high) to the Antoniadi crater near the south pole (9 km deep). (Is it official policy, by the way, that place names on the moon be unpronounceable?)

But besides mapping the moon's topography, the Japanese researchers did a neat trick. They measured the roughness of the moon's surface, which allowed them to figure out if there's water underground. See, if there is water there, then it would act as a sort of lubricant, and the surface would exhibit more flexibility. But if there's no water, then the surface will be more rigid, just like the rough, rigid surface of a desiccated fruit. And the moon? Turns out it's pretty rigid. So: no water. Bummer.

What's that, David Byrne? You have something to say on the topic of water underground? A-and the moon, too?


Thank you, David. Thank you for that.