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Credit & Copyright: The Clementine Project
Explanation:
This dramatic image of the Moon's
edge against a background of distant stars is from
a perspective impossible for groundbased telescopes.
It was taken by a star tracker camera onboard
the Clementine spacecraft. The Solar Corona,
the Sun's
outer atmosphere, is visible shining brightly behind the lunar
limb while the Moon's surface is
illuminated by Earthshine, sunlight reflected
from the Earth to the Moon.
As pictured, the part of the Moon in shadow is
the lunar farside,
the side not visible from Earth.
The highly successful unmanned
Clementine probe explored the Moon
from lunar orbit during March and April of 1994.
Its star tracker cameras
were normally used for celestial navigation,
producing wide angle images showing relative positions of stars.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: lunar limb
Publications with words: lunar limb