NASA creating 3-D moon images

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GREENBELT, Md., Sept. 25 (UPI) -- NASA says its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is acquiring stereo images of the moon in high resolution to provide 3-D views of the surface.

A team of researchers from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University is developing a processing system to automatically generate anaglyphs -- images that can be viewed in 3-D using red/blue-green glasses -- from most of these stereo pairs, the space agency reported Tuesday.

The anaglyphs will give better understanding of the topography of the lunar surface by making lunar features such as craters, volcanic flows, lava tubes and tectonic features jump out in 3-D, NASA said.

The stereo images are created by the orbiter's Narrow Angle Camera targeting a location on the ground and taking an image from one angle on one orbit, and from a different angle on a subsequent orbit.

Detailed images of the moon's surface in 3-D will be available to the general public through Arizona State University's website at http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/ and a NASA website at www.nasa.gov/lro as they become available, NASA said.