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As
per a recent report released by NASA, Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC)
on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite 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.
EPIC
camera is a four megapixel CCD camera and telescope on the DSCOVR satellite
orbiting 1 million miles from Earth. From its position between the sun and
Earth, DSCOVR conducts its primary mission of real-time solar wind monitoring
for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
EPIC
maintains a constant view of the fully illuminated Earth as it rotates,
providing scientific observations of ozone, vegetation, cloud height and
aerosols in the atmosphere. Once EPIC begins regular observations next month,
the camera will provide a series of Earth images allowing study of daily
variations over the entire globe. About twice a year the camera will capture
the moon and Earth together as the orbit of DSCOVR crosses the orbital plane of
the moon.
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 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 far side of the moon was not
seen until 1959 when the Soviet Luna 3 spacecraft returned the first images.
Since then, several NASA missions have imaged the lunar far side in great
detail. 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.
In May 2008 NASA’s Deep Impact
spacecraft captured a similar view of Earth and the moon from a distance of 31
million miles away. The series of images showed the moon passing in front of
our home planet when it was only partially illuminated by the sun.
EPIC’s “natural color” images of
Earth are generated by combining three separate monochrome exposures taken by
the camera in quick succession. EPIC takes a series of 10 images using
different narrowband spectral filters -- from ultraviolet to near infrared --
to produce a variety of science products. The red, green and blue channel
images are used in these color images.
Combining three images taken about
30 seconds apart as the moon moves produces a slight but noticeable camera arti-fact
on the right side of the moon. Because the moon has moved in relation to the
Earth between the time the first (red) and last (green) exposures were made, a
thin green offset appears on the right side of the moon when the three
exposures are combined. This natural lunar movement also produces a slight red
and blue offset on the left side of the moon in these unaltered images.
The lunar far side lacks the large,
dark, basaltic plains, or maria, that are so prominent on the Earth-facing
side. The largest far side features are Mare Moscoviense in the upper left and
Tsiolkovskiy crater in the lower left. A thin sliver of shadowed area of moon
is visible on its right side.
“It is surprising how much brighter
Earth is than the moon," said Adam Szabo, DSCOVR project scientist at
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "Our planet is
a truly brilliant object in dark space compared to the lunar surface.”
Once EPIC begins regular
observations next month, NASA will post daily color images of Earth to a
dedicated public website. These images, showing different views of the planet
as it rotates through the day, will be available 12 to 36 hours after they are
acquired.
DSCOVR is a partnership between
NASA, NOAA and the U.S. Air Force with the primary objective of maintaining the
nation’s real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities, which are critical to
the accuracy and lead time of space weather alerts and forecasts from NOAA.
Video showing the moving moon captured by EPIC
........................................
News, Video and Image Courtsey- nasa.gov
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