The Moon, in color

The United States Geological Survey teamed up with NASA from 1971 to 1998 to create a series of beautiful maps of the Moon and other planets. These maps are color-coded to show geological materials and phenomena, and the result is something that wouldn't look amiss hanging in an art gallery. Here's a portion of the map of the far (or 'dark,' if you prefer) side of the Moon:

And here is one of the Moon's western hemisphere:

You can check out the Wired article on these maps here.

Did you know? Not all maps are of earth.

In 1829 this detailed map made by ML Frankheim was published in Popular Astronomy

via Peacay

The mapping of objects other than the earth started well before we were able to actually take photographs of surfaces.