{"id":67018,"date":"2024-12-05T13:00:23","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T13:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/098f92d9-df04-4367-a63f-eb588f1e8024"},"modified":"2024-12-05T14:39:37","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T14:39:37","slug":"incredible-footage-from-nasa-satellite-shows-the-moon-passing-earth-from-a-million-miles-away","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/incredible-footage-from-nasa-satellite-shows-the-moon-passing-earth-from-a-million-miles-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Incredible footage from NASA satellite shows the Moon passing Earth, from a million miles away"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Iain Todd\n <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 05 December 2024 at 13:00 PM<\/p>

\n\n

There’s a NASA spacecraft that gives us a view of the Moon we can never see from planet Earth.<\/p>

Spacecraft offer us a unique perspective of the Universe, but they also offer a unique perspective of our own planet.<\/p>

Only since the Space Age has humanity been able to see what it’s like to observe our home world from space, to confirm what Earth looks like from different planets<\/a> and moons of the Solar System<\/p>

What a solar eclipse looks like from space. The Moon’s shadow cast on Earth during the October 14 2023 annular solar eclipse, captured by NASA’s DSCVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory). Credit: courtesy of the DSCOVR EPIC team <\/figcaption> <\/figure>

One such spacecraft, the Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR, was launched in February 2015, and made headlines recently for its image of the October 14 2023 solar eclipse from space<\/a>.<\/p>

It captures amazing images of Earth and the Moon, including videos of Earth passing behind and in front of the Moon.<\/p>

Moon passing in front of Earth, in pictures<\/strong><\/h2>
On 11 February 2021 the Moon passed between DSCOVR and the Earth, and NASA’s onboard EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera) instrument captured images of the event over a period of 3 hours.<\/p>
You can see the event, showing the Moon passing in front of Earth, in the video below.<\/p>

<\/div> <\/figure> Let’s take a look at what the spacecraft actually saw, frame by frame.<\/p> Images captured by DSCOVR show our bright blue planet Earth and its natural satellite, the Moon, slowing edging into view…<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full has-lightbox\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/12\/dscovr-moon-earth-01.jpg\" alt=\"One of a sequence of images showing the Moon passing in front of Earth, captured by the DSCOVR spacecraft on 11 February 2021. Image shows the far side of the Moon: something we never get to see from the ground. Credit: NASA\/NOAA\" class=\"wp-image-165179\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Credit: NASA\/NOAA\/EPIC Team <\/figcaption> <\/figure> Then more of the lunar disc begins to emerge into the frame…<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full has-lightbox\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/12\/dscovr-moon-earth-02.jpg\" alt=\"One of a sequence of images showing the Moon passing in front of Earth, captured by the DSCOVR spacecraft on 11 February 2021. Image shows the far side of the Moon: something we never get to see from the ground. Credit: NASA\/NOAA\" class=\"wp-image-165180\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Credit: NASA\/NOAA\/EPIC Team <\/figcaption> <\/figure> Before the entire <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/moon-far-side\">lunar far side<\/a> is in view, as the Moon passes between Earth and the spacecraft on its orbit around our planet.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full has-lightbox\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/12\/dscovr-moon-earth-03.jpg\" alt=\"One of a sequence of images showing the Moon passing in front of Earth, captured by the DSCOVR spacecraft on 11 February 2021. Image shows the far side of the Moon: something we never get to see from the ground. Credit: NASA\/NOAA\" class=\"wp-image-165181\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Credit: NASA\/NOAA\/EPIC Team <\/figcaption> <\/figure> And you may have noticed that the spacecraft has also captured Earth’s rotation, as Australia emerges into full view and appears to drift across our planet’s surface.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full has-lightbox\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/12\/dscovr-moon-earth-04.jpg\" alt=\"One of a sequence of images showing the Moon passing in front of Earth, captured by the DSCOVR spacecraft on 11 February 2021. Image shows the far side of the Moon: something we never get to see from the ground. Credit: NASA\/NOAA\" class=\"wp-image-165182\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Credit: NASA\/NOAA\/EPIC Team <\/figcaption> <\/figure> Pretty cool, eh?<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/12\/dscovr-moon-earth-05.jpg\" alt=\"One of a sequence of images showing the Moon passing in front of Earth, captured by the DSCOVR spacecraft on 11 February 2021. Image shows the far side of the Moon: something we never get to see from the ground. Credit: NASA\/NOAA\" class=\"wp-image-165186\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Credit: NASA\/NOAA\/EPIC Team <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Moon passing behind Earth<\/strong><\/h2> DSCOVR also captures images of the Moon passing behind Earth, as you can see in the video below.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NASA\/NOAA satellite shows Moon passing behind Earth\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kUQKRFsbSR8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tidal locking and the Moon’s orbit<\/strong><\/h2> There’s a neat trick you can use to predict whether the Moon is about to pass in front of or behind Earth in DSCOVR’s images and videos.<\/p> And it’s because the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/why-always-see-same-side-moon\">same side of the Moon always faces Earth<\/a>. The Moon is ‘tidally locked’ with Earth.<\/p> This means the Moon’s orbit and its rotation are effectively synchronised, so that as it orbits our planet, its rate of rotation keeps the same side of the Moon in view.<\/p> That’s why astronomers talk about the ‘near side’ \u2013 the side that always faces Earth \u2013 and the ‘far side’ \u2013 the side that always faces away from Earth.<\/p> Incidentally, astronomers never refer to it as the ‘<a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/dark-side-of-the-moon\">dark side of the Moon<\/a>‘, because no such thing exists!<\/p> In DSCOVR’s images and videos, if you see the Moon showing its near side, it’s about to pass behind Earth, from the spacecraft’s perspective.<\/p> If the Moon is showing its far side, it’s about to pass in front of Earth.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"807\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/02\/James-webb-space-telescope-lagrange-point-9acb697.jpg\" alt=\"The James Webb Space Telescope orbits at L2, while DSCOVR orbits at L1.\" class=\"wp-image-105191\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> The James Webb Space Telescope orbits at L2, while DSCOVR orbits at L1. <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">DSCOVR’s view<\/strong><\/h2> How can DSCOVR see Earth passing in front of the Moon? That must mean it’s located beyond the Moon, right?<\/p> Yes, DSCOVR is located at a so-called Lagrange point, about 1 million miles from Earth,<\/p> Lagrange points are positions between Earth and the Sun where the gravitational pull of both bodies enables a spacecraft to exist in a stable equilibrium.<\/p> It’s a ‘neutral’ gravity point between Earth and the Sun.<\/p> DSCOVR is located at Lagrange point L1. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-missions\/nasa-james-webb-space-telescope-observe-universe\">James Webb Space Telescope<\/a>, for example, is at Lagrange point L2, which is also about 1 million miles away, but at a different location.<\/p> L1 is key to DSCOVR’s main science objective, which is monitoring the Sun, space weather and its effect on our planet.<\/p> The satellite won’t be about for much longer, though, so enjoy its amazing images of the Moon and Earth while you can.<\/p> The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite is\u00a0expected to leave service in 2026.<\/p> See more videos and images at <a href=\"https:\/\/epic.gsfc.nasa.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">epic.gsfc.nasa.gov<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Iain Todd Published: Thursday, 05 December 2024 at 13:00 PM There’s a NASA spacecraft that gives us a view of the Moon we can never see from planet Earth. 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Only since the Space Age […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":67019,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/12\/incredible-footage-from-nasa-satellite-shows-the-moon-passing-earth-from-a-million-miles-away.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/12\/incredible-footage-from-nasa-satellite-shows-the-moon-passing-earth-from-a-million-miles-away-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/12\/incredible-footage-from-nasa-satellite-shows-the-moon-passing-earth-from-a-million-miles-away-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/12\/incredible-footage-from-nasa-satellite-shows-the-moon-passing-earth-from-a-million-miles-away-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/12\/incredible-footage-from-nasa-satellite-shows-the-moon-passing-earth-from-a-million-miles-away-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/12\/incredible-footage-from-nasa-satellite-shows-the-moon-passing-earth-from-a-million-miles-away.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/12\/incredible-footage-from-nasa-satellite-shows-the-moon-passing-earth-from-a-million-miles-away.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Iain Todd Published: Thursday, 05 December 2024 at 13:00 PM There’s a NASA spacecraft that gives us a view of the Moon we can never see from planet Earth. Spacecraft offer us a unique perspective of the Universe, but they also offer a unique perspective of our own planet. Only since the Space Age…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/67018"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}