﻿ Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]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. 2022 February 15 [2]The featured image shows a full moon as constructed by images returned by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Specifically, the images just to the bright side of the lunar terminator are used, which shows the lunar surface in great detail. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Terminator Moon Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, [5]SVS; Processing & Copyright: [6]Jai & [7]Neil Shet Explanation: What's different about this Moon? It's the [8]terminators. In the featured image, you can't directly see any [9]terminator -- the line that divides the light of day from the dark of night. That's because the image is a digital composite of 29 near-terminator lunar strips. Terminator regions show the longest and most [10]prominent shadows -- shadows which, by their contrast and length, allow a flat photograph to appear three-dimensional. The [11]original images and data were taken near the [12]Moon by NASA's [13]Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Many of the Moon's [14]craters stand out because of the [15]shadows they all cast to the right. The image shows in graphic detail that the [16]darker regions known as maria are not just darker than the rest of the [17]Moon -- they are flatter. Dial-A-Moon: [18]Find the phase of the Moon on your birthday. Tomorrow's picture: eroding sun tower __________________________________________________________________ [19]< | [20]Archive | [21]Submissions | [22]Index | [23]Search | [24]Calendar | [25]RSS | [26]Education | [27]About APOD | [28]Discuss | [29]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [30]Robert Nemiroff ([31]MTU) & [32]Jerry Bonnell ([33]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [34]Specific rights apply. [35]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [36]ASD at [37]NASA / [38]GSFC & [39]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2202/TerminatorMoon_Shet_3117.jpg 3. https://www.nasa.gov/ 4. https://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 5. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 6. https://jaishetphotography.myportfolio.com/about-me 7. mailto: neilshet at gmail dot com 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminator_(solar) 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180522.html 10. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/1e/c4/a9/1ec4a9503ab9fdfaede7f3a6b93e5ba0--light-and-shadow-cat-silhouette.jpg 11. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4768 12. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/earths-moon/in-depth/ 13. https://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/about.html 14. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/impact-crater/en/ 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211125.html 16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_mare#/media/File:Moon_names.svg 17. https://moon.nasa.gov/observe-the-moon-night/resources/moon-map/ 18. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4955 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220214.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 23. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 28. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220215 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220216.html 30. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 31. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 32. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 33. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 35. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 36. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 37. https://www.nasa.gov/ 38. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 39. http://www.mtu.edu/