                        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.

                                2023 June 12
     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: Tianyao Yang

   Explanation: What’s that near the Moon? It’s the International Space
   Station (ISS). Although the ISS may appear to be physically near the
   Moon, it is not — it is physically near the Earth. In low Earth orbit
   and circulating around our big blue marble about every 90 minutes, the
   ISS was captured photographically as it crossed nearly 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 Sun-illuminated half is
   visible from the Earth. The featured image was taken in late March from
   Shanghai, China and shows not only details of Earth's largest
   human-made satellite, but details of the cratered and barren surface of
   Earth's largest natural satellite. Over the next few years, humanity is
   planning to send more people and machines to the Moon than ever before.

                       Tomorrow's picture: another two
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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,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

