Is the moon really this colorful? In a way, yes. The lunar surface actually does have quite a bit of color, although in reality it is very subtle. In this photograph, the color saturation has been enhanced to bring out the differences in the colors of the various areas of the surface. The hues are correct, just much more vivid than we usually see them.

Aside from making an interesting aesthetic presentation, the colors also give clues as to the mineralogy of the moon's surface. Also, at the sites of many impact craters we can see that deeper material exposed (and in some cases scattered) by the impact is of a different composition than the material on the surface.

This image was LPOD (Lunar Photo of the Day) on 25 December 2007

http://www.lpod.org/?m=20071225