Visualized: NASA's lunar laser light show

NASA's been quietly shooting lasers at the moon -- and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, specifically -- for some time now, but it only just opened its Laser Ranging Facility at the Goddard Space Flight Center to the public this weekend and, as you can see, it didn't fail to put on a show. Of course, the lasers do more than provide the backdrop for all-night NASA raves (we're guessing), they also measure the precise location of the LRO and ensure the accuracy of the lunar maps its generates.