Resolved Hapke parameter maps of the Moon

We derived spatially resolved near‐global Hapke photometric parameter maps of the Moon from 21 months of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Wide Angle Camera (WAC) multispectral observations using a novel “tile‐by‐tile method” (1° latitude by 1° longitude bins). The derived six parameters ( w , b , c , B S 0 , h S , andθ ̄p ) for each tile were used to normalize the observed reflectance (standard angles i = g = 60°, e = 0° instead of the traditional angles i = g = 30°, e = 0°) within each tile, resulting in accurate normalization optimized for the local photometric response. Each pixel in the seven‐color near‐global mosaic (70°S to 70°N and 0°E to 360°E) was computed by the median of normalized reflectance from large numbers of repeated observations (UV: ∼50 and visible: ∼126 on average). The derived mosaic exhibits no significant artifacts with latitude or along the tile boundaries, demonstrating the quality of the normalization procedure. The derived Hapke parameter maps reveal regional photometric response variations across the lunar surface. The b , c (Henyey‐Greenstein double‐lobed phase function parameters) maps demonstrate decreased backscattering in the maria relative to the highlands (except 321 nm band), probably due to the higher content of both SMFe (submicron iron) and ilmenite in the interiors of back scattering agglutinates in the maria. The h S (angular width of shadow hiding opposition effect) map exhibits relatively lower values in the maria than the highlands and slightly higher values for immature highland crater ejecta, possibly related to the variation in a grain size distribution of regolith.