The Moon is actually dark grey and reflects about the same amount of light as an old asphalt road.

The Moon has an average albedo of 0.12. This means it only reflects 12% of the sunlight that hits it. For comparison, Earth reflects about 30% of the sunlight it receives. The lunar surface is covered in a fine dust called regolith. This dust is made of volcanic minerals like basalt which are naturally dark.When Apollo 11 astronauts landed on the Moon in 1969, they described the ground as looking like dark grey soot. The Moon looks different depending on its position. A full moon is much brighter than a half-moon because of the opposition surge. This happens when the Sun is directly behind the observer and shadows on the Moon's surface disappear.The brightest parts of the Moon are the highlands which reflect 16% of light. The dark flat areas called maria reflect only 7% of light. If you placed the Moon next to a snow-covered mountain, the Moon would look dull and brown. Our brains perform a process called white balance. We see the Moon as white because it is the brightest thing in the night sky.