Why is moon dust white?

Answer 1

Anorthite is the mineral found much more than any other on the moon. Most of the moons crust is made up of this and a combination of this mineral, which is mostly calcium some aluminum and silicon. There is a surprising amount of oxygen in the crystal structure and I am sure that NASA is trying to find a way to cheaply use that property. Anyway, that mineral is the white or light gray that seems to make up what you see. There are a whole lot more minerals on the moon though, than just that. It really depends on the area and the studies break them down to lowlands and highlands for the mineral components and quantity.

Answer 2

Good Question.
The reason for the moon dust to 'appear' white is the fact that there is no atmosphere on moon.If there was an atmosphere the n a majority of the light would have been absorbed by it.(also the reason can be understood why sunrise and sunset are yellowish red in color-diffraction of light) Whatever sunlight is falling on moon a majority of it gets reflected towards the earth due to the absence of atmosphere. So it appears to be white in color.

Answer 3

The reason moon dust is white is simply because the color white results when all colors (wavelengths) of light are reflected.

Let's say someone is wearing a red shirt. The reason that shirt appears red is because the shirt contains red pigment which absorbs every single color except red. Red light is reflected.

In the case of white color, ALL the colors of the rainbow (visible spectrum) are reflected. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

If you took a pure white highly reflective powder and put it in a dark room it wouldn't be white anymore.

Answer 5

Hi. Because it reflects all colors.