Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2020 July 19

                           Rotating Moon from LRO
                  Video Credit: NASA, LRO, Arizona State U.

   Explanation: No one, presently, sees the Moon rotate like this. That's
   because the Earth's moon is tidally locked to the Earth, showing us
   only one side. Given modern digital technology, however, combined with
   many detailed images returned by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
   (LRO), a high resolution virtual Moon rotation movie has been composed.
   The featured time-lapse video starts with the standard Earth view of
   the Moon. Quickly, though, Mare Orientale, a large crater with a dark
   center that is difficult to see from the Earth, rotates into view just
   below the equator. From an entire lunar month condensed into 24
   seconds, the video clearly shows that the Earth side of the Moon
   contains an abundance of dark lunar maria, while the lunar far side is
   dominated by bright lunar highlands. Currently, over 19 new missions to
   the Moon are under active development from eight different countries,
   most of which have expected launch dates in the next three years.

   Notable Images of Comet NEOWISE Submitted to APOD: July || 18 || 17 ||
             16 || 15 || 14 || 13 || 12 || 11 || 10 & earlier ||
                       Tomorrow's picture: comet tale
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.


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