It’s not just the shadows themselves, though, it’s where they are — because there shouldn’t be any shadows at all.
The ESA captured pictures of the Moon’s north pole from every possible angle over two years, compiling over 32,000 different shots. The goal was to catch the pole spun towards the sunlight from every direction and eventually be able to make a mosaic of the images that show every detail of the pole completely lit up. Yet, when researchers stitched it together, they found some areas remained in a persistent shadow no matter what the angle of the light.
Because these constant shadows never lightened, despite every possible different lighting combination, researchers think that they might be the site of some incredibly deep holes on the Moon that have never seen any light at all. And that may make these shadows also a good bet for finding lunar water in the form of ice.
Image: ESA/SPACE-X.