                        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.

                               2024 August 30

                             Southern Moonscape
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Lorand Fenyes

   Explanation: The Moon's south pole is toward the top left of this
   detailed telescopic moonscape. Captured on August 23, it looks across
   the rugged southern lunar highlands. The view's foreshortened
   perspective heightens the impression of a dense field of craters and
   makes the craters themselves appear more oval shaped close to the lunar
   limb. Prominent near center is 114 kilometer diameter crater Moretus.
   Moretus is young for a large lunar crater and features terraced inner
   walls and a 2.1 kilometer high, central peak, similar in appearance to
   the more northerly young crater Tycho. Mountains visible along the
   lunar limb at the top can rise about 6 kilometers or so above the
   surrounding terrain. Close to the lunar south pole, permanently
   shadowed crater floors with expected reservoirs of water-ice have made
   the rugged south polar region of the Moon a popular target for
   exploration.

                      Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

