The Stillwater Complex in the Beartooth Mountains contains a mineral that closely resembles the most common mineral on the surface of the Moon.
Mines across the United States churn out all kinds of minerals, from potash to iron to gold. But the ground around a mine in southern Montana contains a mineral that is a bit more valuable—at least to the scientists who use it to study the Moon.
On August 10, 2018, Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired this image showing part of the Stillwater Complex south of Nye, Montana. The group of rocks spans about 30 miles (50 kilometers) of the Beartooth Mountain Range, and is mined primarily for its chromium and platinum-group metals.
The site gained attention from NASA and U.S. Geological Survey scientists for a different type of rock. “Anorthosite is probably the most common single mineral on the surface of the Moon,” said Doug Rickman, an economic geologist and lunar geoscientist (retired, and current part-time contractor) at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
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Image via NASA Earth Observatory
