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Credit & Copyright: Peter Armstrong
Explanation:
This
arresting image of the third quarter moon
in the excellent skies above
the Pine Crest Farm Observatory, Dell Prairie, Wisconsin, was
recorded with
a 24 inch telescope and digital camera on October 19.
Marvelously detailed,
especially along the terminator or shadow
line between lunar
night and day,
this cropped version of the
full mosaicked image shows the cratered north polar region (top) and
the broad smooth
Mare Imbrium.
Notable at
the northern edge
of the Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains)
is the 95 kilometer wide dark crater Plato, while the
dramatic straight "cut" to the right of Plato, (toward the
terminator) is the Vallis Alpes
(Alpine Valley).
The long, graceful arc
of the lunar
Montes Apenninus (Apennine Mountains) in the lower portion of the image
sweeps southward along the boundary of the mare toward the
left and ends near
the bright ray crater
Copernicus at the picture's
edge.
In 1971,
Apollo 15
landed near the gap beyond the opposite (northern) end of the
Montes Apenninus arc.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Moon - mare - Earth's moon - telescope
Publications with words: Moon - mare - Earth's moon - telescope
See also:
- APOD: 2025 June 20 B Major Lunar Standstill 2024 2025
- APOD: 2025 June 18 B Space Station Silhouette on the Moon
- APOD: 2025 April 22 B Terminator Moon: A Moonscape of Shadows
- Moon Near the Edge
- APOD: 2025 April 8 B Moon Visits Sister Stars
- APOD: 2025 April 6 B Moonquakes Surprisingly Common
- Lunar Dust and Duct Tape