APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
North to the Moon's Pole
Explanation: This image is from the voyage of the intrepid Galileo spacecraft as it passed above the Moon's north pole on its long journey to Jupiter . It was made over 60 years after Admiral Byrd became the first to fly over the Earth's north pole . Within a superposed frame of lattitude and longitude lines much of the Moon's familiar face , dominated by smooth dark mare , is brightly lit. Near the pole itself, the harsh shadows reveal a rugged, cratered lunarscape .
| Date | June 22, 1996 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: The Galileo Project, JPL,and NASA, |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |