Amazing Moon Gallery

Rising Earth about five degrees above the lunar horizon

This December, 1968 NASA file image shows the rising Earth is about five degrees above the lunar horizon in this telephoto view taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft. The horizon, about 570 kilometers (250 statute miles) from the spacecraft, is near the eastern limb of the Moon as viewed from the Earth. On the earth, the sunset terminator crosses Africa. The south pole is in the white area near the left end of the terminator. North and South America are under the clouds. The lunar surface probably has less pronounced color than indicated by this print. AFP PHOTO/NASA / AFP PHOTO / NASA / HO

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China-Science-Moon

A boy stands near a model of the moon hanging above the Olympic swimming pool at the National Aquatics Center, known as the Water Cube, in Beijing on July 11, 2018.
The moon model is part of an exhibition about China's moon exploration technology and achievements. China landed its first rover on the moon in 2013 and plans to land a rover on the far side of the moon later in 2018. / AFP PHOTO / GREG BAKER

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Us-Space-Earth-Moon

This 16 December, 1992 NASA file image captured 8 days after its encounter with Earth, the Galileo spacecraft looked back from a distance of about 6.2 million kilometers (3.9 million miles) to capture this remarkable view of the Moon in orbit about Earth. The composite photograph was constructed from images taken through visible (violet, red) and near- infrared filters. The Moon is in the foreground; its orbital path is from left to right. Brightly colored Earth contrasts strongly with the Moon, which reacts only about one-third as much sunlight as our world. To improve the visibility of both bodies, contrast and color have been computer enhanced. At the bottom of Earth's disk, Antarctica is visible through clouds. The Moon's far side can also be seen. The shadowy indentation in the Moon's dawn terminator--the boundary between its dark and lit sides--is the South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the largest and oldest lunar impact features. AFP PHOTO/ NASA / AFP PHOTO / NASA / NASA

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