Still of the moon crossing the face of the Earth via NASA/NOAA
NASA has released some truly epic images of the moon crossing the face of Earth.
NASA has put the images together to create a frankly fake-looking animation.
But it’s real.
The Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a four megapixel CCD camera and telescope aboard 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, according to NASA.
The series of images show the fully-illuminated ‘dark side of the moon’, which is never visible from Earth.
The DSCOVR satellite is orbiting a million miles from Earth and its primary job is real-time solar wind monitoring for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
However, it has also been taking some pretty epic photos, including this Blue Marble image last month.
The photos of the moon crossing the face of the Earth were taken on 16 July, showing the moon moving over the Pacific Ocean near North America.
Once EPIC begins regular observations next month, the camera will provide a series of Earth images. 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.
