﻿ 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. 2023 June 12 [2]A crescent moon is shown against blue background. Many craters are visible in great detail. To the upper left appears some kind of small machine which is actually the International Space Station also in orbit around the Earth. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. The Largest Satellites of Earth Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Tianyao Yang Explanation: What’s that near the Moon? It’s the [4]International Space Station (ISS). Although the [5]ISS may appear to be physically near the [6]Moon, it is not — it is physically near the [7]Earth. In [8]low Earth orbit and circulating around our [9]big blue marble about every 90 minutes, the ISS was captured photographically as it crossed nearly [10]in front of the Moon. The Moon, itself in a month-long orbit around the Earth, shows a crescent phase as only a curving sliver of its [11]Sun-illuminated half is visible from the Earth. The featured image was taken in late March from [12]Shanghai, [13]China and shows not only details of Earth's largest human-made satellite, but details of the cratered and [14]barren surface of Earth's largest natural satellite. Over the next few years, humanity is planning to send [15]more people and machines to the [16]Moon than ever before. Tomorrow's picture: another two __________________________________________________________________ [17]< | [18]Archive | [19]Submissions | [20]Index | [21]Search | [22]Calendar | [23]RSS | [24]Education | [25]About APOD | [26]Discuss | [27]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [28]Robert Nemiroff ([29]MTU) & [30]Jerry Bonnell ([31]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [32]Specific rights apply. [33]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [34]ASD at [35]NASA / [36]GSFC, [37]NASA Science Activation & [38]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2306/IssMoon_Yang_2599.jpg 3. mailto: yangtian1994 at gmail dot com 4. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html 5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap151109.html 6. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/earths-moon/overview/ 7. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/earth/overview/ 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030426.html 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211206.html 11. https://i.redd.it/6ck58p1mkhf01.jpg 12. https://youtu.be/5XEtBHYUPg4 13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China 14. https://www.salon.com/2014/07/09/buzz_aldrin_describes_the_magnificent_desolation_of_the_moon_and_other_fascinating_aspects_of_space_to_reddit/ 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_missions_to_the_Moon#Future_missions 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221201.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230611.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 21. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 26. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230612 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230613.html 28. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 29. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 30. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 31. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 33. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 34. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 35. https://www.nasa.gov/ 36. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 37. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 38. http://www.mtu.edu/