Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Credits: NASA/NOAA

A NASA camera — the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) — aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite has captured a unique view of the Moon as it moved in front of the sunlit side of Earth last month.

The series of test images shows the fully illuminated “dark side” of the moon that is never visible from Earth.

These images were taken between 3:50 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. EDT on July 16, showing the moon moving over the Pacific Ocean near North America.

The Earth’s North Pole is in the upper left corner of the image, reflecting the orbital tilt of Earth from the vantage point of the spacecraft.

The same side of the moon always faces an earthbound observer because the moon is tidally locked to Earth. That means its orbital period is the same as its rotation around its axis.

An animation features actual satellite images of the far side of the moon, illuminated by the sun, as it crosses between the DSCOVR spacecraft’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) and telescope, and the Earth – one million miles away.

Check out this YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMdhQsHbWTs

Also, for more detail on this celestial photo-shoot, go to:

http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/from-a-million-miles-away-nasa-camera-shows-moon-crossing-face-of-earth/