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November 2016 - The Revelation of Mars' Atmosphere
Report #21 - October 2016
A Closer Look At The Moon
On most nights, we see a bright white dot shining brightly in the dark sky. With the naked eye, assuming one had good vision, one would be lucky if we can catch a glimspe of the our moon's dark grey spots, or maria. However, from the series of Apollo missions in the 1960s, we have been able to see the moon as close-up as its rocky surface, viewing maria, which are dark regions formed by molten rock, impact craters, volcanic channels, and mountain ranges. The following photos come from an archive of 14,000 images that were captured by Apollo astronauts.
An up-close image of the moon.
An image of the moon's many craters.
A detailed image of the moon's rocky terrain.
An Apollo astronaut investigating the moon's surface.
How Were These Photos Taken?
According to NASA, during their Apollo missions, astronauts would use their handheld cameras to take pictures of the moon's surface "through surveys conducted from lunar orbit and on the ground." Since Apollo 11, the first moon landing mission, only 12 people have visited the moon to document their experience on its rocky surface. While it may have taken three days for the astronauts to travel 250,000 miles from Earth to the moon, the sight makes it all worth it.
The Tables Turned: A view of the Earth from the moon.
SOURCES:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Images courtesy of NASA